GIFT  OF 

Marston  Campbell,  Jr 


tthpft 

am*.- 


MRS.    PRESIDENT    ROOSEVELT   SEATED   AT    HER   DESK   IN   THE 

LIBRARY  OF  THE  REMODELED  WHITE  HOUSE. 

From  her  latest  photograph,  approved  by  herself,  and  engraved 

expressly  for  this  book. 


THIRTY  YEARS  IN  WASHINGTON 

OR 

LIFE  AND  SCENES  IN  OUR  NATIONAL  CAPITAL. 

PORTRAYING  , 

THE    WONDERFUL    OPERATIONS    IN    ALL    THE    GREAT    DEPARTMENTS,   AND 

DESCRIBING  EVERY  IMPORTANT  FUNCTION  OF  OUR 

NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT, 

INCLUDING  ITS 

jMetortral,  (Kpecttttoe,  ^tjministvattDr ,  Departmental,  9lrtcstir,  anU  Social 

jFeature0. 

WITH   SKETCHES  OP 

THE  PRESIDENTS  AND  THEIR  WIVES 

AND   OP 

ALL    THE  FAMOUS   WOMEN  WHO  HAVE  REIGNED  IN   THE   WHITE  HOUSE 

FROM  WASHINGTON'S  TO  ROOSEVELT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


By  MRS.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 

\\ 


Ma<n  Entrance  to  the  White  House. 


WITH   FIFTY   PULL-PAGE   PHOTOGRAVURE   PLATES   FROM    PHOTOGRAPHS   MADE   BY  SPECIAL 
PERMISSION   OP  THE    UNITED  STATES   GOVERNMENT    EXPRESSLY   FOR  THIS   WOKK, 


H.    L.    BALDWIN   COMPANY,   PUBLISHERS, 
MINNEAPOLIS,   MINN. 


GIFT  OF 


[ALL  RIGHTS   RESERVED] 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1901, 
BY   A.    D.    WORTHINGTON   &  COMPANY, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


flO  TIIlbOni  ft /ISat)  COllCCrnt — Notice    is  hereby  given    by  the   Puonshers 

that  the  sale  of  this  book,  "THIRTY  YEARS 

IN  WASHINGTON,"  by  subscription  only,  is  protected  by  decisions  of  the  United 
States  Courts.  These  decisions  are  by  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Ohio,  rendered  by 
Judge  Hammond,  and  by  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  rendered  by 
Judge  Butler,  and  are  that  "when  a  subscription  book  publishing  house,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  author,  elects  to  sell  a  book  purely  bv subscription  and  does  so  sell  //, 
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lished and  sold." 

Hence,  this  is  to  notify  booksellers  and  the  public  that  all  our  agents  are  under 
contract,  as  our  agents,  to  sell  this  book  by  subscription  oti/y,  and  to  individual  sub- 
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as  books  are  furnished  to  them  only  for  delivery  to  individual  subscribers  ;  and  any 
interference  with  our  agents  to  induce  them  to  sell  contrary  to  their  contract  obliga- 
tions and  our  rights,  or  any  sale  of  this  book  by  any  one  not  an  authorized  agent- 
will  entitle  us  to  the  protection  of  the  Courts. 

Tr-.1!01'0?  ,is  also  h?rebv  given  that  this  copy   of  "THIRTY  YEARS  IN  WASH- 
INGTON     can  be  identified  wherever  found,  together  with  the  name  of  the  agent 


it  is  made  simply  to  protect  *he  author,  ourselves,  and  our  agents  against  infringe- 
;rn.cn«  V-Jfich  ifoo  us.of.the  legitimate  fruits  of  our  labor  and  investment 
«,*'  A£e(jts>hd  alj  ctjjer'.pej-sons  are  requested  to  inform  us  at  once  of  the  offering 
'of 'any  copies  o     this  book  for  sale  by  any  bookseller,  or  by  any  person  not  our 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


spr 


presenting  this  volume,  in  the  preparation  of 
.which  the  utmost  care  has  been  taken,  and  no 
expense  considered  too  great,  I  have  endeavored 
to  meet  the  demand  for  a  story  of  the  birth 
and  growth  of  our  National  Capital,  and  for  a 
comprehensive  and  interesting  description  of  the 
countless  and  mighty  interests  that  center  there.  Few 
citizens  of  the  United  States  really  appreciate  the  number 
and  magnitude  of  the  Departments  of  the  Government,  or 
realize  how  marvelously  the  volume  of  business  has  ex- 
panded as  the  population  of  our  ever-widening  domain  has 
increased.  Many  otherwise  well-informed  people  are  un- 
familiar with  the  workings  of  the  giant  activities  carried 
on  in  these  Departments,  and  much  of  what  I  have  written 
will  doubtless  be  a  revelation  to  them. 

The  sketches  of  the  Presidents  of  the  great  Eepublic, 

from  Washington  to  McKinley,  together  with  those  of  the 

ladies  of  the  "White  House,  whose  influence  has  often  been 

"  the  power  behind  the  throne,"  I  am  sure  will  claim  the  in- 

1  (i) 

832768 


11  PREFACE. 

terested  attention  of  my  readers.  The  lives  and  personality 
of  these  women  have  been  overshadowed,  historically  speak- 
ing, by  the  more  prominent  careers  of  their  distinguished 
husbands  or  relatives.  Every  woman  will  read  with  pride 
the  record  of  these  women  who  were  called  to  fill  the  most 
prominent  and  difficult  position  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  In 
almost  every  instance  they  were  lovely  and  admirable  char- 
acters. Most  of  them  were  equipped  by  birth,  education, 
and  social  acquirements  to  adorn  this  high  position ;  and 
some  possessed  a  rare  combination  of  gifts  and  graces 
that  made  them  pre-eminent  as  social  queens,  and  made  their 
reign,  as  mistress  of  the  White  House,  a  part  of  our  National 
history. 

My  first  introduction  to  life  in  the  city  of  Washington 
was  in  1858,  General  Logan  being  then  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, and  for  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  lived  there 
almost  continuously,  an  interested  observer  of  passing 
events.  As  the  wife  of  a  Senator,  I  may  say  that  I 
enjoyed  unusual  privileges  and  opportunities  to  see  and 
know  the  inner  life  and  activities  of  the  Capital  City.  I 
have  had  my  share  of  the  favor  of  the  powers  that 
were,  and  the  honor  of  being  included  among  the  distin- 
guished guests  at  both  private  and  official  entertainments ; 
and  I  have  known  the  pleasure  of  personal  acquaintance 
with  prominent  statesmen,  courtly  diplomats,  gallant  com- 
manders of  our  Army  and  Navy,  famous  scientists  and 
authors,  and  beautiful,  winning,  and  gifted  women,  filling 
with  grace  and  dignity  the  highest  social  positions  that  the 
people  could  bestow.  In  these  years  there  have  been 
stormy  political  times,  and  troubled  years  of  cruel  war, 


PREFACE.  ill 

when  the  very  existence  of  the  Nation  was  threatened, 
and  many  happy,  prosperous  years  of  peace.  Through  all, 
our  great  Republic  has  steadily  advanced  to  the  highest 
station  among  the  ruling  powers  of  the  world. 

What  I  have  written  has  been  without  prejudice,  and 
with  no  striving  for  sensational  effect.  I  know  whereof  1 
affirm,  and  this  volume  may  be  looked  upon  as  reliable, 
whether  in  its  historical  review  of  the  birth  and  development 
of  our  National  Capital ;  its  presentation  of  the  official  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  those  who  occupy  high  or  humble  po- 
sitions in  the  government  service ;  its  account  of  the  marvel- 
ously  interesting  workings  of  great  administrative  forces; 
its  biographical  sketches  of  famous  characters;  its  descrip- 
tions of  remarkable  events;  or  its  portrayal  of  everyday 
life  in  a  city  that,  from  a  straggling  village  in  the' woods, 
has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  stately  and  magnificent  of 
capitals,  vying  with  those  of  the  Old  World  in  picturesque- 
ness,  majestic  and  splendid  architecture,  artistic  decoration, 
unique  and  manifold  government  industries,  and  surpassing 
all  of  them  in  its  collections  of  relics  and  curiosities  from 
every  part  of  the  world. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  show  my  readers,  both  by  word 
and  pictorial  art,  the  wonders  and  the  workings  of  the  elab- 
orate machinery  of  the  Government  in  motion,  by  leading 
them  through  the  great  national  buildings  and  explaining 
what  the  army  of  busy  men  and  women  workers  do  and 
how  they  do  it;  to  show  them  the  works  of  art,  and  the 
architectural  glories  and  priceless  treasures  of  the  Capital ; 
to  portray  not  only  daily  life  at  the  White  House,  past  and 
present,  but  its  brilliant  social  and  official  functions  as 


iV  PREFACE. 

well ;  in  short,  to  present  every  interesting  phase  of  life  in 
Washington.          „ 

My  desire  is  to  be  remembered  as  an  intelligent  guide, 
leading  the  reader  on  from  one  scene  of  interest  to  another, 
awakening  the  mind  to  a  finer  comprehension  of  our 
country's  greatness,  and  inspiring  all  with  a  higher  and 
more  devoted  patriotism. 


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1.  PORTRAIT    OF   MRS.  JOHN  A.    LOGAN      .        .        .    Frontispiece 

Engraved  for  this  work  from  a  photograph  taken  expressly  for  it. 

2.  MAIN  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  WHITE  HOUSE    .'      .         Title  page 

3.  ORNAMENTAL   HEADING  TO   PREFACE    .  i 


4.  ENGRAVED   AUTOGRAPH   OF  MRS.  JOHN  A.   LOGAN          .      iv 

5.  ORNAMENTAL   HEADING  TO   LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.        v 


6.    ORNAMENTAL  HEADING  TO  CONTENTS 


7.    ORNAMENTAL  HEADING  TO   CHAPTER  I 


.    xiii 


8.  EAST  FRONT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  CAPITOL,  AS  SEEN 

FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS    (Full  Page)    Facing      83 

The  building  covers  nearly  four  acres,  and  was  seventy-four  years  in 
process  of  construction.  It  cost,  including  the  land,  about  $16,000,000.  The 
Senate  Wing  is  at  the  right;  the  House  Wing  at  the  left.  The  great  cast- 
iron  dome  weighs  4,500  tons,  required  eight  years  for  its  construction,  and 
cost  over  $1,000,000.  The  bronze  Statue  of  Liberty  that  surmounts  the  dome 
is  19  feet  6  inches  high,  weighs  7^  tons,  and  cost  over  $24,000. 

9.  FLOOR  PLAN  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  STORY  OF  THE  CAPITOL      88 

(v) 


vi  LIST  OP  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

10.  A  SECTION  OF  STATUARY  HALL  IN  THE  CAPITOL  (Full 

Page) Facing     94 

Statuary  Hall  is  the  old  Hall  of  Representatives,  now  dedicated  as  a  Memo- 
rial Hall.  Here  are  placed  the  statues  of  heroes  and  statesmen  who  in  life 
were  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  nation.  Each  State  may  contribute  marble 
or  bronze  figures  of  two  of  her  most  illustrious  deceased  sons.  Many  States 
are  represented. 

11.  A  SECTION  OF  STATUARY  HALL  IN  THE  CAPITOL  (Full 

Page)      ,       .       • .•       .'.    Facing    104 

The  most  majestic  room  in  the  Capitol.  Here  are  many  notable  bronze 
and  marble  statues  of  the  illustrious  dead,  those  who  helped  to  found  and  up- 
build the  nation.  The  statues  are  contributed  by  their  respective  States. 

12.  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRE- 

SENTATIVES  Ill 

13.  DIAGRAM  OF  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  SENATE  .   .   .   .114 

14.  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  POPULARLY  KNOWN  AS  THE 

WHITE  HOUSE  (Full  Page) Facing    130 

The  official  residence  of  the  President  and  his  family.  The  view  is  of  the 
north  or  main  entrance  front,  as  seen  from  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  It  was 
begun  in  1792,  and  cost,  to  the  present  time,  over  $1,700,000.  Some  of  the 
rooms  on  the  first  floor  are  open  to  visitors  from  10  A.  M.  to  2  p.  M.  daily, 
except  Sunday.  The  number  of  visitors  has  been  known  to  exceed  over  3,000 
in  a  single  day. 

15.  MAIN  FLOOR  PLAN  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE       ...    134 

16.  THE  FAMOUS  EAST  ROOM  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  (Full 

Page) Facing    138 

Showing  its  daily  throng  of  tourists  and  visitors.  It  is  open  to  the  public 
every  day  from  10  A.  M.  to  2  p.  M.  except  Sunday,  and  is  annually  visited  by 
tens  of  thousands  of  people.  Anyone  may  enter  this  room  without  introduc- 
tion or  formality.  Its  three  immense  crystal  chandeliers  cost  $15,000.  Public 
receptions  are  here  held  by  the  President,  and  millions  of  people  have  passed 
through  this  historic  room. 

17.  THE  FAMILY  DINING  ROOM  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  (Full 

.  Page) Facing    146 

For  the  private  use  of  the  President,  his  family,  and  their  guests.  It  is  on 
the  main  floor,  but  is  never  shown  to  visitors. 

18.  THE  STATE  DINING  ROOM  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  (Full 

Page) Facing    152 

Used  only  for  formal  state  dinners  given  by  the  President  to  high  officials. 
The  President  sits  at  the  middle  of  the  farther  side  of  the  table.  In  front  of  his 
seat  is  a  plat  sixteen  feet  long,  made  up  of  orchids  and  ferns,  and  at  intervals 
nine  other  plats  similarly  decorated,  and  sixteen  vases  filled  with  roses. 
About  twenty  dozen  orchids,  as  many  roses,  and  500  pots  of  ferns  are  used  to 
decorate  the  table.  The  set  of  cut  glass  consists  of  520  pieces,  and  cost  $6,000. 
The  set  of  china  consists  of  1,500  pieces,  each  piece  exquisitely  decorated.' 

19.  THE    FAMILY    KITCHEN    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE    (Full 

page) Facing    158 

The  family  kitchen  is  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  presidential  family,  and  is 
never  shown  to  visitors.  There  is  another  kitchen  in  the  White  House  where 
state  dinners  are  prepared,  and  which  is  used  only  on  such  occasions. 

20.  SECOND  STORY  PLAN  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  ,    165 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  vii 

UPPER  CORRIDOR  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  SHOWING  EN- 
TRANCE TO  THE  PRESIDENT'S  PRIVATE  OFFICE  (Full 
Page) Facing  171 

The  arch  is  at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  stairs  that  ascend  from  the  main  en- 
trance. An  official  messenger  with  important  papers  is  about  to  enter  the 
President's  office.  The  doorkeeper,  always  on  duty,  is  at  the  left.  Bronze 
busts  of  Washington  and  Lincoln  are  on  either  side  of  the  arch. 


THE    PRESIDENT'S     PRIVATE    OFFICE    IN    THE    WHITE 
HOUSE  (Full  Page) Facing    172 

The  beautiful  and  massive  oak  table  used  by  the  President  was  made  from 
timbers  of  the  British  vessel  Resolute,  which  was  abandoned  in  the  Arctic  Sea 
while  searching  for  Sir  John  Franklin  in  1854,  but  recovered  by  American 
whalers.  It  is  a  gift  from  Queen  Victoria,  and  has  a  suitable  inscription  on  a 
silver  plate  which  can  be  seen  facing  the  President's  chair. 


INSIDE  THE  WHITE   HOUSE.     OFFICE  OF   THE    SECRE- 
TARY TO   THE   PRESIDENT   (Full  Page)   .        .        Facing    179 

Showing  assistant  secretaries  and  clerks  at  their  daily  work.  This  room 
is  on  the  second  floor  of  the  White  House  and  near  the  President's  private 
office. 


THE    CABINET    ROOM    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE    (Full 
Page) Facing    185 

In  this  room  Cabinet  meetings  are  held  and  important  national  questions 
are  discussed  by  the  President  and  his  Cabinet.  Around  this  historic  table 
many  of  the  greatest  men  in  our  history  have  been  seated  in  council.  Here  the 
policy  of  the  administration  and  the  destiny  of  the  nation  is  shaped.  The  walls 
are  adorned  with  many  portraits  of  ex-Presidents.  The  President's  flag  may 
be  seen  in  the  glass  case  behind  the  table. 


35.    THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT   OF  STATE    (Full 

Page) Facing    191 

Showing  the  steel  safe  in  which  are  deposited  the  originals  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  now  no 
longer  exhibited  to  the  public.  Many  rare  and  valuable  volumes  are  depos- 
ited here. 


36.    FACSIMILE  OF  THE   DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

(Insert) 193-6 

The  original  Declaration  was  almost  ruined  early  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury in  securing  a  facsimile  for  a  copper  plate.  The  process  caused  the  ink  to 
fade  and  the  parchment  to  deteriorate.  The  original  document  and  the  copper 
plate  are  now  deposited  for  safe  keeping  in  a  steel  safe  in  the  Library  of  the 
Department  of  State,  and  are  inaccessible  to  the  public.  The  full  text  of  the 
original  document  is  still  legible,  but  the  signatures  have,  with  but  few  excep- 
tions, utterly  vanished.  The  facsimile  shown  above  was  photographed  from 
a  perfect  copy  loaned  by  the  Department  of  State  for  use  in  this  volume. 

27.  A  MYSTERY  OF  THE  TREASURY.  SOPHIA  HOLMES,  A 
COLORED  JANITRESS,  DISCOVERING  1200,000  IN  BANK 
BILLS  IN  A  WASTE  PAPER  BOX  IN  THE  TREASURY  (  Full 
Page) Facing  313 

Upon  the  arrival  of  General  Spinner,  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  at 
midnight,  accompanied  by  the  night  watchman,  Sophia  removed  the  top  layer 
of  waste  paper  from  the  box,  pointed  to  the  huge  pile  of  bills  beneath,  and  told 
her  story  to  the  astonished  Treasurer.  She  was  retained  in  office  by  the  Gov- 
ernment until  her  death,  in  1900,  a  period  of  thirty-eight  years.  The  mystery 
of  how  this  large  sum  of  money  found  its  way  into  the  box  has  never  been 
explained  to  the  public. 


Viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

28.  BUSY  WORKERS  IN  THE  TREASURY.    THE  ROOM  WHERE 

PRINTED  SHEETS  OF  UNCLE  SAM'S   PAPER   DOLLARS 
ARE  SEPARATED  (Pull  Page)        ....        Facing    223 

Bank  notes  are  printed  four  on  a  sheet,  and  are  separated  into  single 
bills  by  machines  run  by  women.  The  bills  are  then  counted  and  sealed  in 
packages.  Over  100  pounds  of  wax  a  month  is  used  in  sealing  the  packages. 
Formerly  the  bills  were  cut  apart  by  women  armed  with  long  shears.  Hun- 
dreds .of  millions  of  dollars  have  passed  through  this  room. 

29.  HOW  UNCLE  SAM  MAKES  HIS  MONEY.   THE  ENGRAVING 

ROOM  WHERE  UNITED  STATES  NOTES,  BONDS,  STAMPS, 
ETC.,  ARE  ENGRAVED  (Full  Page)       .        .        .        Facing    229 

All  the  beautiful  designs  embodied  in  Uncle  Sam's  bills,  notes,  stamps,  and 
checks  are  engraved  in  this  room.  The  most  expert  engravers  in  the  world 
are  here  employed  by  the  Government,  some  of  them  receiving  a  salary  of 
$6,000  a  year.  The  Government  owns  65,000  dies,  rolls,  plates,  etc.,  used  in 
printing  its  securities.  They  are  guarded  with  the  greatest  care. 

30.  MAKING  MONEY.     ONE  OF  THE  ROOMS  WHERE  UNCLE 

SAM'S    PAPER    DOLLARS    ARE    PRINTED      (Full  Page) 
Facing    235 

All  Government  notes,  bills,  bonds,  stamps,  etc.,  are  printed  by  hand.  No 
method  for  printing  successfully  from  steel  plates  by  machinery  has  ever  . 

been  devised.     Each  press  is  run  by  an  experienced  printer,  assisted  by  a 
woman. 

31.  INSIDE  THE  TREASURY.    THE  ROOM  IN  WHICH  UNCLE 

SAM'S  PAPER  DOLLARS  ARE  NUMBERED  AND  TRIMMED 
(Full  Page) Facing    238 

All  bank  notes,  bills,  and  securities,  excepting  pension  checks,  are  num- 
bered in  this  room  by  machines  run  by  women.  Great  skill  and  experience 
are  required.  Mistakes  are  frequent,  but  each  woman  is  allowed  to  spoil  ten 
out  of  every  thousand  sheets.  The  numbering  machines  are  on  the  left,  the 
trimming  machines  on  the  right. 

32.  WOMEN'S  WORK  IN  THE  TREASURY.   COUNTING  UNCLE 

SAM'S  NEWLY  PRINTED  DOLLARS    (Full  Page)   Facing    245 

Every  dollar  and  all  the  bonds  issued  by  the  Government  have  passed 
through  the  hands  of  these  expert  counters,  who  count  and  examine  more 
than  a  million  dollars  a  day  with  a  celerity  that  is  perfectly  astonishing.  It  is 
impossible  to  count  the  rapid  movements  of  the  fingers  of  any  one  of  these 
women.  Each  one  will  average  counting  32,000  notes  a  day.  They  do  noth- 
ing but  count  all  day  long,  week  after  week  and  year  after  year.  No  one  in 
the  world  has  handled  so  many  dollars  as  they. 

33.  WOMEN'S  WORK  IN  THE  TREASURY.     COUNTING,  IDEN- 

TIFYING,  AND   ASSORTING   WORN-OUT   MONEY    (Full 
Page) Facing    249 

All  worn-out  money  returned  to  the  Government  by  National  Banks  or 
from  other  sources  to  be  "  redeemed  "  is  first  counted  and  assorted  by  expert 
women,  who,  at  the  same  time,  keep  a  keen  eye  for  counterfeits.  More  than 
$160,000  of  worn-out  money  is  here  daily  received  for  redemption.  Each 
counter  sits  at  a  desk  by  herself,  that  the  money  committed  to  her  care  may 
not  become  mixed  with  that  to  be  counted  by  any  other  person. 

34.  WOMEN     EXPERTS    IN    THE    TREASURY    IDENTIFYING 

BURNED  MONEY  FOR  REDEMPTION    (Full  Page)  Facing    253 

On  the  expert's  desk  is  a  lot  of  burned  bills,  and  she,  with  a  magnifying 
glass,  is  in  the  act  of  determining  their  denomination.  In  her  left  hand  she 
holds  a  new,  perfect  bill  for  comparison.  On  the  top  of  her  desk  are  bundles 
containing  thousands  of  dollars  of  mutilated  bills  awaiting  identification. 
Money  has  here  been  received  as  taken  from  the  stomachs  of  animals,  and 
from  the  bodies  of  drowned  human  beings ;  some  of  it  has  been  chewed  up  by 
pigs,  goats,  and  mice,  or  lain  at  the  bottom  of  rivers  for  years. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ix 

35.  THE  FUNERAL  OF  UNCLE  SAM'S  PAPER  DOLLARS.    THE 

TREASURY    DESTRUCTION    COMMITTEE    DESTROYING 
$5,000,000  IN  PAPER  MONEY     (Pull  Page)     .        .        Facing    261 

Worn-out  paper  money  is  destroyed  by  being  ground  to  pulp  in  the  "  mac- 
erater."  Treasury  officials  meet  here  for  this  purpose  every  day.  After  being 
weighed,  the  money  is  deposited  on  a  table,  on  one  side  of  which  is  a  large 
funnel, leading  through  the  floor  to  the  macerater,  or  boiler,  beneath.  When 
all  is  ready,  the  huge  pile  of  money  is  pushed  into  the  funnel  and  a  brawny 
colored  man  hastens  its  progress  into  the  macerater  with  a  pole.  The  largest 
sum  ever  destroyed  here  at  one  time  was  $166,095,000. 

36.  UNITED  STATES  SECRET  SERVICE  DETECTIVES   SUR- 

PRISING   A    DEN    OF    COUNTERFEITERS       (Full   Page) 

Facing    284 

$100,000  is  annually  appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  Government  Secret 
Service.  Its  methods  of  work  are  naturally  concealed  from  the  public,  but  its 
eyes  are  everywhere.  The  Chief  of  the  Bureau  can  instantly  place  in  the  field 
at  any  desired  point  a  corps  of  the  most  capable  and  experienced  detectives  in 
the  world. 


37.  MAKING  POSTAGE  STAMPS.      WOMEN  SEPARATING  AND 

PERFORATING    THE    PRINTED    SHEETS       (Full    Page) 

Facing    318 

Each  separated  sheet  contains  100  postage  stamps.  The  perforating  is 
swiftly  done  by  little  machines,  each  tended  by  two  women.  In  early  days 
the  stamps  were  cut  apart  with  scissors.  The  Government  now  manufactures 
over  four  billion  postage  stamps  every  year. 

38.  WHO    IS    IT    FOR?        A    SCENE    IN    THE    DEAD-LETTER 

OFFICE.       EXPERTS  TRYING  TO  DECIPHER  AN  ILLEG- 
IBLE ADDRESS     (Full  Page) Facing    332 

Many  apparently  hopeless  cases  are  brought  to  life  and  delivered  to  their 
owners.  Last  year  2,321,000  letters,  including  money  and  values  amounting 
to  $1,100,000,  were  delivered  to  owners;  5,393,000  unclaimed  letters  were 
opened,  and  4,283,000  letters  were  sold  as  waste  paper.  Some  of  the  keenest- 
wilted  officials  in  the  Government  service  are  employed  in  the  Dead-Letter 
Office,  and  some  of  the  best  experts  are  women. 

39.  FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD   LETTER   DELIVERED  AT  ELIZA- 

BETH, N.  J 336 

40.  FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  JERSEY 

CITY,  N.  J 337 

41.  FACSIMILE   OF  A   DEAD   LETTER   DELIVERED   AT   NEW- 

ARK, N.  J 339 

42.  FACSIMILE   OF   A   DEAD    LETTER    DELIVERED   AT   CAR- 

TERET,  N.  J 331, 

43.  FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  HART- 

FORD, CONN .340 

44.  FACSIMILE   OF    A    DEAD    LETTER    DELIVERED    AT    HO- 

BOKEN,  N.  J 341 

45.  FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  CLEVE- 

LAND, N.  Y 343 

IB 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

WOMEN'S  WORK   IN  THE  DEAD-LETTER  OFFICE    (Full 

Page) Facing    344 

An  average  of  23,000  pieces  of  dead  mail  matter  are  received  in  the  Dead- 
Letter  Office  every  day,  or  over  7,000,000  pieces  every  year.  Of  these,  last 
year,  over  50,500  letters  contained  $44,140  in- money;  38,000  contained  drafts, 
notes,  etc.,  representing  $1,136,645.  The  "dead  "  mail  for  that  year  contained 
177,000  parcels  of  merchandise,  books,  etc.,  and  about  60,000  photographs; 
81,600  letters  and  parcels  bore  no  address  ;  191,000  contained  postage  stamps ; 
145,000  letters  and  parcels  were  held  for  postage;  misdirected,  422,000. 

FORECASTING    THE    WEATHER    IN    THE    INSTRUMENT 
ROOM  OF  THE  WEATHER  BUREAU    (Full  Page)   Facing    404 

The  United  States  Weather  Bureau  is  in  close  communication  with  over  200 
sub-stations  scattered  throughout  the  United  States,  Canada,  Mexico,  and  the 
West  Indies.  Weather  telegrams  have  the  right  of  way  over  all  other  tele- 
graphic business.  The  illustration  shows  "  weather  sharps  "  at  work  forecast- 
ing the  weather.  One  of  the  Bureau's  weather  kites,  which  has  been  known 
to  rise  to  a  height  of  nearly  three  miles,  is  seen  decorating  the  ceiling  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  room.  The  yearly  cost  of  maintaining  the  Bureau  is  over 
$1,000,000.  Its  telegraphic  service  costs  over  $180,000  a  year. 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS,  AS  SEEN  FROM  THE  CAP- 
ITOL   (Full  Page) Facing    418 

The  most  beautiful  and  the  costliest  library  building  in  the  world.  Com- 
pleted in  1897  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $7,000,000,  including  the  land.  It  contains 
about  1,000,000  books  and  forty-five  miles  of  shelving.  It  is  connected  with 
the  Capitol  by  an  underground  book  tunnel,  through  which  books  can  be  deliv- 
ered to  Senators  and  Congressmen  in  three  minutes.  The  library  service 
requires  a  force  of  341  persons. 

FIRST-STORY  PLAN,  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS         ...    434 
SECOND-STORY  PLAN,  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS    .        .        .    429 

THE  PUBLIC  READING  ROOM  IN  THE   LIBRARY  OF  CON- 
GRESS   (Full  Page)      ...;...        Facing    430 

The  central  and  most  important  part  of  the  building.  It  is  marked  by  a 
magnificence  of  decoration  and  splendor  of  architecture  surpassing  every 
other  part  of  the  edifice.  It  is  paneled  with  the  rarest  of  colored  marbles  in 
great  profusion  and  massive  proportions.  The  room  is  100  feet  in  diameter  and 
160  feet  from  the  main  floor  to  the  apex  of  the  dome.  Seats  are  provided  for 
over  two  hundred  readers. 

INSIDE  THE  MAIN  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  LIBRARY  OF  CON- 
GRESS   (Full  Page) Facing    440 

No  one  is  prepared  for  the  vision  that  bursts  upon  him  when  he  has  passed 
through  the  mammoth  bronze  doors.  It  is  like  entering  into  another  world. 
Visitors  gaze  in  dumb  amazement,  as  with  uplifted  eyes  they  seek  to  compre- 
hend the  beauty  and  the  grandeur  that  pervade  the  place.  The  massive  stair- 
way is  of  white  marble,  delicately  carved. 

THE    FOREST   OF    MARBLE    PILLARS    ON    THE    SECOND 
FLOOR  OF  THE   LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS    (Full   Page) 

Facing    448 

These  massive  white  marble  columns  rise  in  majestic  splendor.  Through 
them  are  seen  glimpses  of  mural  paintings  and  marvels  of  mosaic  art,  and 
hundreds  of  decorative  details  wrought  by  famous  artists. 

MAIN  FLOOR  OF  THE  CORCORAN  GALLERY  OF  ART 

(Full  Page) Facing    453 

This  beautiful  marble  building  contains  over  4,000  works  of  art,  including 
casts  of  the  most  noted  works  of  ancient  sculpture,  many  original  marbles,  a 
large  collection  of  famous  bronzes,  250  valuable  paintings,  portraits  of  all  the 
Presidents,  etc.  The  value  of  the  collection  is  over  $2  ooo  ooo 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xi 

55.  A   SECTION   OF   THE   MAIN   FLOOR   OF   THE  CORCORAN 

GALLERY  OF  ART    (Full  Page)       ....        Facing-    458 

Showing  some  of  the  beautiful  and  notable  statues  and  bronzes  now  on 
permanent  exhibition  there. 

56.  BEAUTIFUL    ARLINGTON,    THE    SILENT    CITY    OF    THE 

DEAD    (Full  Page) Facing    528 

Here  lie  the  remains  of  over  17,000  soldiers  who  died  that  the  nation  might 
live.  The  stones  are  set  in  rows,  uniform  in  distance  one  from  the  other,  and 
marshaled  as  battalions  for  review.  Arlington  was  formerly  the  home  of  Gen- 
eral Robert  E.  Lee.  It  is  the  privilege  of  wives  and  daughters  of  soldiers 
buried  at  Arlington  to  be  buried  here,  and  many  a  woman's  grave  is  here 
beside  that  of  her  husband  or  father. 

57.  FACE  OF  MONUMENT  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  DEAD  OF  THE 

CIVIL  WAR 535 

58.  TOMB  AT  ARLINGTON  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  DEAD  OF  THE 

CIVIL  WAR  (Full  Page) Facing    536 

The  bones  of  2,111  unknown  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War,  whose  remains 
•were  gathered  from  various  battlefields,  are  interred  beneath  this  stone.  At 
the  right,  behind  the  trees,  is  the  Temple  of  Fame,  on  whose  columns  are  en- 
graved the  names  of  distinguished  American  soldiers.  At  the  extreme  left  may 
be  seen  a  portion  of  the  mansion  owned  by  General  Robert  E.  Lee  until  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War. 

59.  THE   HOME   OF   GEORGE   AND   MARTHA   WASHINGTON. 

THE  MANSION  AT  MOUNT  VERNON   AS   IT  IS  TO-DAY. 
(Full  Page) Facing    544 

Its  venerable  roof  sheltered  Washington  and  all  he  held  most  dear,  from 
youth  to  age.  The  room  in  which  he  died  is  the  end  room  of  the  second 
story,  having  two  windows  opening  upon  the  roof  of  the  veranda.  The 
dormer  window  in  the  attic  above  is  the  room  in  which  Martha  Washington 
secluded  herself  for  two  and  one-half  years  after  her  husband's  death,  and 
here  she  died.  It  was  chosen  by  her  because  its  little  window  was  the  only  one 
in  the  mansion  that  commanded  a  view  of  his  tomb. 

60.  THE  ROOM  IN   WHICH   WASHINGTON   DIED   AT   MOUNT 

VERNON  (Full  Page) Facing-    557 

The  room  was  closed  after  his  death  and  never  again  occupied.  The  bed 
now  in  this  room  is  the  one  on  which  he  died.  The  small  stand  at  the  head  of 
the  bed  is  the  one  on  which  his  medicines  were  kept  during  his  last  illness. 

61.  THE  OLD  WASHINGTON  TOMB  AT  MOUNT  VERNON  (Full 

Page) Facing    558 

The  remains  of  Washington,  and  later  those  of  his  wife,  were  placed  in 
metal  coffins  and  deposited  in  this  vault.  Here  they  remained  until  1837,  when 
they  were  removed  to  the  new  tomb.  The  vault  was  once  entered  by  vandals 
and  a  skull  and  some  bones  were  taken,  but  it  was  found  that  these  comprised 
no  part  of  the  remains  of  the  illustrious  dead.  The  new  vault  was  then  built, 
and  the  family  remains  were  removed  to  it. 

62.  THE  NEW  TOMB  OF  GEORGE  AND  MARTHA  WASHINGTON 

AT  MOUNT  VERNON  (Full  Page)  ....        Facing    562 

Their  remains  now  lie  in  this  tomb,  in  separate  marble  coffins,  hewn  each 
from  a  single  block  of  marble.  When  they  were  deposited  here,  in  1837,  tne 
tomb  was  locked  and  sealed  and  the  key  thrown  into  the  Potomac  river. 

63.  THE  ATTIC  ROOM  AT  MOUNT  VERNON  IN  WHICH  MAR- 

THA WASHINGTON  DIED  (Full  Page)         .        .        Facing    576 

Martha  Washington  secluded  herself  in  this  room  for  two  and  one-half 
years  after  her  husband's  death,  and  here  on  this  bed  she  died.  Some  of  the 
furniture  was  used  by  Washington's  family.  The  room  is  a  mere  garret  and 
has  but  one  small  window. 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

64     THE   VESTIBULE    IN    THE   WHITE   HOUSE    (Full    Page) 

« .        .        .        ...        Facing    586 

The  main  entrance  to  the  White  House  opens  into  this  vestibule,  which  is 
separated  from  the  central  corridor  by  a  magnificent  screen  of  stained-glass 
mosaic,  studded  with  cut  crystal,  which  at  night  shines  like  the  walls  of  an 
enchanted  palace. 

65.  IN    THE    LIBRARY    AT    THE  WHITE  HOUSE  (Full  Page) 

Facing    634 

The  stateliest  room  on  the  upper  floor.  It  is  sometimes  used  by  the  Presi- 
dent as  an  official  reception  room,  and  sometimes  as  an  evening  sitting  room 
for  the  presidential  family  and  their  guests. 

66.  THE  GREEN   ROOM   IN   THE  WHITE   HOUSE  (Full  Page) 

*    ....        .        .        .        Facing    648 

A  beautiful  room  furnished  and  decorated  in  delicate  green,  with  gold 
ornamentation.  Notable  portraits  of  famous  men  and  women  of  the  White 
House  adorn  its  walls.  Here  lay  the  body  of  Willie,  the  little  son  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  awaiting  its  journey  to  the  grave.  Mrs.  Lincoln  never  again 
entered  this  room. 

67.  THE  EAST  ROOM   IN   THE  WHITE   HOUSE   DECORATED 

FOR  A  STATE  RECEPTION  (Full  Page)      .        .        Facing    680 

It  is  a  rare  sight  to  see  this  famous  room  decorated  for  a  state  function. 
Over  5,000  decorative  plants  are  used,  ranging  from  giant  palms  to  tiny  and 

delicate  ferns.    About  a  mile  of  smilax  is  required.     The  room  is  not  open  to 

visitors  when  decorated  for  such  occasions. 

68.  IN    FRONT    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE    DURING    A    NEW 

YEAR'S   RECEPTION  (Full  Page)    ....        Facing    694 

Every  grade  of  society  is  represented  at  a  New  Year's  reception  at  the 
White  House,  and  the  President  welcomes  courtly  ambassadors  and  humble 
laboring  men  with  equal  cordiality. 

69.  THE    RED    ROOM    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE   (Full   Page) 

Facing    716 

Used  by  the  President  and  his  family  as  a  reception  room.  It  is  furnished 
and  decorated  in  red,  and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  rooms  in  the  White 
House.  At  the  left  hangs  a  portrait  of  President  Harrison's  first  wife,  who 
died  in  the  White  House.  At  the  right  is  a  portrait  of  Mrs.  President  Hayes. 
In  the  center,  over  the  door,  is  a  portrait  of  President  Hayes.  Many  por- 
traits of  former  Presidents  look  down  from  its  walls. 

70.  THE  PRESIDENT'S  PRIVATE  STAIRWAY   IN   THE  WHITE 

HOUSE  (Full  Page) Facing    724 

For  the  exclusive  use  of  the  President  and  his  family.  It  is  near  the 
family  dining  room  and  leads  from  the  first  to  the  second  floor. 

n.     PRESIDENT    AND    MRS.    McKINLEY'S    BEDROOM   IN  THE 

WHITE  HOUSE  (Full  Page)       .        .        .        .        .        Facing    733 

The  room  is  furnished  and  decorated  in  blue.  President  McKinley's  por- 
trait is  at  the  left ;  Mrs.  McKinley's  at  the  right.  A  portrait  of  their  little 
daughter,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  years,  is  in  the  center. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SITE  OF  -THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  AND  HOW  IT  WAS 
SELECTED  — EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  TRIALS. 

The  Prophet  of  the  Capital  —  Forecasting  the  Future  —  A  Government 
Moving  Slowly  and  Painfully  About  on  Wheels  —  Insulted  by  a  Band 
of  Mutineers  —  Troubles  and  Trials  —  Washington's  Humble  Ideas  of 
a  President's  House  —  Renting  and  Furnishing  a  Modest  Home  — 
Spartan  Simplicity  —  Madison's  Indignation  —  "  Going  West"  — 
Where  is  the  Center  of  Population  ?  —  A  Dinner  and  What  Came  of 
it _ Sweetening  a  "Peculiarly  Bitter  Pill"  — A  "Revulsion  of  Stom- 
ach "  —  End  of  a  Long  and  Bitter  Strife 33 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON  AND  OBSTINATE  DAVY  BURNS— 
HOW  THE  "WIDOW'S  MITE"  WAS  SECURED  — HOW  AND 
BY  WHOM  THE  CITY  WAS  PLANNED. 

Making  Peace  With  Lords  of  Little  Domains  —  "  Obstinate  Mr.  Burns"  — 
A  Pugnacious  Scotchman  —  The  "  Widow's  Mite"  —  A  Graceful  Sur- 
render—  Republicans  in  Theory  but  Aristocrats  in  Practice  — Who 
Was  Major  L'Enfant  ?—  A  Lucky  Circumstance  —  Plans  that  Were 
Ridiculed  —  Men  Who  Did  Not  "  Get  On  "  Well  Together  —  The  Man 
Who  Worried  President  Washington  —  Demolishing  Mansions  With- 
out  Leave  or  License  —  An  Uncontrollable  Engineer  —  His  Summary 
Dismissal  —  Living  Without  Honor  and  Dying  Without  Fame  —  A 
Quaker  Successor  of  "Uncommon  Talent"  and  "Placid  Temper"  — 
Five  Dollars  a  Day  and  "  Expenses  "  —  "  Too  Much  "— A  Colored 
Genius  for  Mathematics  —  "  Every  Inch  a  Man  "  —  Why  the  Capitol, 
the  White  House,  Were  Set  Far  Apart .44 

(xiii)' 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

BIRTH  OF  THE  NATION'S  CAPITOL—  GRAPHIC  PICTURES 
OF  EARLY  DAYS  —  SACKED  BY  THE  BRITISH  —  WASH- 
INGTON DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

Raising  the  Money  to  Build  the  Capitol  —  Government  Lottery  Schemes  — 
Hunting  for  the  Capital  —  "In  the  Center  of  the  City"  —  Queer  Sen- 
sations—Dismal Scenes  —  Sacked  by  the  British  —  "The  Royal 
Pirate  "—  Flight  of  the  President  —  Burning  of  the  White  House  — 
Mrs  Madison  Saves  the  Historic  Painting  of  General  Washington  — 
Paul  Jennings'  Account  of  the  Retreat  —  Invaded  by  Torch  Bearers 
and  Plunderers  —  A  Memorable  Storm—  Midnight  Silent  Retreat  of 
the  British  —  Disgraceful  Conduct  of  "The  Royal  Pirate  "  —  "  Light 
up!"  —  Setting  Fire  to  the  Capitol  —  Dickens'  Sarcastic  Description 
of  the  Capital  —  "  Such  as  It  Is,  It  Is  Likely  to  Remain"—  When 
the  Civil  War  Opened  —  Dreary,  Desolate,  and  Dirty  —  The  Capital 
During  the  War  —  Days  of  Anguish  and  Bloodshed.  .  .  53 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BUILDING  THE  CAPITOL  —  HOW  WASHINGTON  AND  JEFFER- 
SON  ADVERTISED  FOR  PLANS  —  COMPLETION  OF  THE 
CAPITOL'. 

Early  Trials  and  Tribulations  —  Schemers  and  Speculators  —  A  "Front 
Door  in  the  Rear  "  —  Seeking  for  Suitable  Plans  —  A  Troublesome 
Question  —  Washington  and  Jefferson  Advertise  Premiums  for  the 
Best  Plan  —  A  Curious  "ad"  —  Some  Remarkable  Offerings  —  The 
Successful  Competitor  —  Carrying  Off  the  Prize  —  Laying  of  the 
Corner-Stone  by  President  Washington  —  A  Defeated  Competitor's 
Audacity  —  President  Washington's  Rage—  Jealousies  of  Rivals  — 
Congress  Sitting  in  "the  Oven"  —  Crimination  and  Recrimination  — 
Building  Additions  to  the  Capitol  —  Hoodwinking  Congress  —  How 
the  Money  Was  Appropriated  to  Build  the  Great  Dome  —A  Successful 
Ruse  —  Completion  of  the  Building  —  Its  Dimensions  and  Cost  — 
Curious  Construction  of  the  Great  Dome.  68 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  TOUR  INSIDE  AND  OUTSIDE  THE  CAPITOL  —  INTEREST- 
ING SIGHTS  AND  SCENES  — UNDER  THE  GREAT  DOME  — 
A  PARADISE  FOR  VISITORS. 

Entering  the  Capitol  Grounds  —  Inside  the  Capitol  —  Bridal  Pairs  in 
Washington  —  Where  Do  They  Come  From  ?  —  Underneath  the  Capi- 
tol—Using the  Capitol  as  a  Bakery  —  Turning  Out  16,000  Loaves  of 
Bread  Daily  — Marble  Staircases  and  Luxurious  Furniture  — In  the 
Senate  Chamber  and  House  of  Representatives  —  Costly  Paintings  — 
Bronzes  and  Statues  —  la  the  Rotunda  —  Under  the  Great  Dome  — 


CONTENTS.  XV 

In  Statuary  Hall  — Famous  Statues  and  Works  of  Art— "Brother 
Jonathan  "  —  The  Famous  Marble  Clock  —  The  Scene  of  Fierce  and 
Bitter  Wrangles  —  The  Bronze  Clock  Whose  Hands  Are  Turned 
Back  —  A  Colossal  Statue  Weighing  Twenty-one  Tons  —  Commodore 
Hull's  Expedition  to  Bring  it  to  America  —  Climbing  to  the  Top  of 
the  Mighty  Dome  — Looking  Down  on  the  Floor  of  the  Rotunda  — 
Under  the  Lantern  — At  the  Tip-top  of  the  Capitol.  .  83 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  —  A 
PEEP  BEHIND  THE  SCENES  —  CLAIMANTS  AND  LOBBY- 
ISTS —  GOVERNMENT  PRIZES. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  — Scenes  of  Confusion  —  The  Speaker  — 
A  Peep  Behind  the  Scenes—  "  What  Did  They  Do?"  — A  Visit  to  the 
Senate — Playing  Marbles  Behind  the  Vice-President's  Chair  —  Secret 
Sessions  — The  Veil  Lifted  —  A  Senator's  Amusing  Experience  — 
Some  Revelations  —  How  the  Senate  Works—  "Will  Carp  Eat  Gold 
Fish?  "  —  Curious  Requests  —  "  We  Want  a  Baby  "  —Women  With 
Claims — Professional  Lobbyists  and  Their  Ways  —  Button-holing  Sen- 
ators—  "  Who  are  They':  "  —  Importance  of  "  Knowing  the  Ropes  " — 
Catching  the  Speaker's  Eye  —  An  Indignant  Congressman  —  Catching 
"the  Measles,  the  Whooping-Cough,  and  the  Influenza" —  Shaves, 
Hair-cuts,  and  Baths  at  Uncle  Sam's  Expense  —  Barbers  as  "Skilled 
Laborers"  —  "  Working  a  Committee." 109 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  TOUR  THROUGH  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FROM  ATTIC  TO 
CELLAR  — WHITE  HOUSE  WEDDINGS  AND  TRAGEDIES. 

Inside  the  White  House  —  An  Historic  Mansion  —  Reminiscences  of  the 
Past—"  What  Tales  the  Room  Could  Tell  If  It  But  Had  a  Tongue"— 
Why  It  Is  Called  the  White  House  —  Its  Cost  —  How  To  Gain  Admis- 
sion— Its  Famous  Rooms  and  Their  Furnishings — Invited  To  "Assist" 

—  The  Great  East  Room  —  Chandeliers  That  Cost  $5,000  Each  — 
Where  Mrs.  Adams  "Dried  the  Family  Wash "  — Shaking  Hands 
with  Sixty  Thousand  Persons  —  A  Swollen  Hand  and  a  Lame  Arm  — 
How  an  Old  Lady  Greeted  the  President  — Trying  To  See  the  President 

—  Forbidden  Rooms  —  The  President's  Private  Apartments  —  Efforts 
to  Peep  at  the  White  House  Kitchen  —  Indignant  Visitors  —  Weddings 
in  the  White  House  —  Tragedies  of  the  White  House.         .        .      130 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DAILY  LIFE  AND  SCENES  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  — THE 
PRESIDENT'S  DOMESTIC  ARRANGEMENTS. 

Official  Entertainment  at  the  White  House— Social  Customs  —  Daily  Life 
and  Scenes — "  His  High  Mightiness" — Only  Plain  "Mr.  President" 
—  The  President's  Turnout  —  Why  His  Horses'  Tails  Are  Not  Docked" 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

OFFICIAL  "RED  TAPE"  — SOME  LITTLE-KNOWN  ACTIVITIES 
OF  UNCLE  SAM'S  HOUSEHOLD— WONDERFUL  WORK  AND 
ASTONISHING  FACTS. 

Official  "  Red  Tape  "  —  Fraudulent  Claims  —  Guarding  Against  Errors  in 
Accounts— An  Incident  of  the  Civil  War  — An  Unknown  Friend  Who 
Loaned  the  Government  a  Million  Pounds  —  Who  Was  He  ?  —  A  State 
Secret  _  An  Important  Meeting  at  the  White  House  —  Signing  Ten 
Million  Dollars  Worth  of  Bonds  Against  Time  —  How  It  Was  Done  — 
600  Bookkeepers  at  Work  —  Ignorant  Country  Postmasters  —  Money 
Orders  that  Are  Never  Presented  for  Payment  —  An  Unsolved  Mystery 

—  Thousands  of  Dollars  Not  Called  For —  How  the  Money  Rolls  into 
Uncle  Sam's  Tills  —  Smugglers  and  Their  Ways —  A  Dangerous  Class 
of   Defrauders  — A  Wonderful  Pair  of  Scales  — Some  Astonishing 
Facts  About  Weights  and  Measures 262 

CHAPTER  XY. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  SECRET  SERVICE  — HOW  COUNTER- 
FEITERS, DEFAULTERS,  AND  THIEVES  ARE  CAUGHT  — 
SOME  REMARKABLE  DETECTIVE  EXPERIENCES. 

A  Secret  Fund  for  Secret  Purposes  —  Uncle  Sam's  Detective  Bureau  —  IU 
Methods  and  Mysteries — Expert  Sleuth-hounds  — Eyes  That  Are  Every- 
where—Counterfeiters and  Their  Secret  Workshops— A  Skillful  and 
Dangerous  Class  of  Criminals  —  Where  They  Come  From  —  The  Mu- 
seum of  Crime  in  the  Secret  Service  Rooms  —  Some  Marvelous  Coun- 
terfeits—Running Down  a  "Gang"  —  Wide-Spread  Nets  for  Coun- 
terfeiters, Defaulters,  and  Thieves  —  Catching  Old  and  Wary  Offenders 

—  Ingenious  Methods  —  An  Adroit  Counterfeiter  and   His  Shabby 
Hand-bag  —  A  Mysterious  Bundle  —  A  Surprised  Detective  —  What 
the  Hand-bag  Contained  —  How  Great  Frauds  Are  Unearthed  —  How 
Suspicious  Persons  Are  Shadowed  —  A  Wonderful  Story  of  Detective 
Skill— Deceiving  the  Officials— Detective  Experiences.     .        .      274 

CHAPTER  XYI. 

THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT  —  HOW  AN  ARMY  IS  RAISED, 
EQUIPPED,  AND  MAINTAINED —  WHERE  THE  BONES  OF 
LINCOLN'S  ASSASSINS  LIE. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  War  — Pins  and  Tags  on  the  Chess  Board 
of  War  —  Keeping  Track  of  Our  Soldier  Boys  —  Soldiers  Made  of  Wax 

—  "Conquer    or    Die "  — Trophies  of  War  — Huge  Boxes    Labeled 
Like  Coffins  — Stored   Behind    Iron-Grated    Doors  —  Curious   Relics 
From  Santiago  and  the  Philippines  —  Handsome  but  Harmless  Guns 

—  Where  and   How  the  Record  of  Every  Soldier  Is  Kept  — Taking 
Care  of  the  Sick  and  Wounded  —  Watching  Other  Nations  — The 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

Signal  Service  —  A  Dapper  Man  in  a  Blue  Uniform  —  Watching  for 
Raw  Recruits  —  Passing  the  Surgeon's  Examination  —  A  Soldier's 
Life  —  A  Surprised  Lot  of  Red-Coats  —  Where  the  Bones  of  Lincoln's 
Assassins  Lie  —  Dishonored  Graves 289 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

IN  THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENT  —  CARING  FOR  "  JACK  "  AFLOAT 
AND  ASHORE  — THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVAL  OBSERVA- 
TORY—RELICS WITH  STRANGE  HISTORIES. 

Heroic  Deeds  Recalled  —  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  —  Disap- 
pearance of  Wooden  Warships  —  Training  Jack  for  His  New  Duties 

—  Providing  for  His  Comfort  Afloat—  Old  Time  Man-of -Wars-Men  — 
A  Happy  Lot  of  Boys  —  How  the  "Man  Behind  the  Gun  "  Is  Edu- 
cated in  Naval  Warfare  —  Collecting  Information  for  Sailors  —  Bottle 
Papers  and  Their  use  — A  Valuable  Equatorial  Telescope  —  The  Won- 
derful Clock  by  Which  All  Other  Timepieces  Are  Set  -  The  United 
States  Navy  Yard  —  The  Naval  Museum  —  Objects  of  Great  Historic 
Interest —  "  Long  Tom  "  and  Its  Story  —  Relics  with  Strange  Histories 

—  The  Marine  Corps  —  A  Body  of  Gallant  Fighters  —  Instances  ~»f 
Their  Bravery  —  The  Marine  Band 300 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  DAY  IN  THE  POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT  —  THE  STORY  OF 
A  LETTER  — SOME  CURIOUS  FACTS  AND  INTERESTING 
EXPERIENCES  —  RURAL  FREE  DELIVERY. 

The  Greatest  Business  Organization  in  the  World  —  Looking  After  80,000 
Post-Offices  —  The  Travels  of  a  Letter  —  The  Making  of  a  Postage 
Stamp  —  Using  4,000,000,000  Stamps  a  Year  —  A  Key  That  Will  Un- 
lock Hundreds  of  Thousands  of  Mail  Bag  Locks  —  Keeping  Track  of 
Tens  of  Thousands  of  Mail  Bags  —  Why  They  Never  Accumulate  — 
Testing  the  Ability  of  Clerks  —  Remembering  6,000  Post-Offices  — 
"  Star  Routes  "  and  What  They  Are  —  The  Smallest  Contract  the  Gov- 
ernment Ever  Made  —  Carrying  the  Mails  for  One  Cent  a  Year  —  The 
"Axeman"  —  Chopping  off  the  Heads  of  Postmasters  —  Free  Rural 
Delivery  —  Opposition  of  Country  Postmasters  —  A  Boon  to  Farmers 

—  How  Rural  Routes  are  Established 312 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  DEAD-LETTER  OFFICE  —  ITS  MARVELS  AND  MYSTERIES 
—  OPENING  AND  INSPECTING  THE  "DEAD"  MAIL  — 
SOME  CURIOUS  AND  TOUCHING  REVELATIONS  —  THE 
DEAD -LETTER  MUSEUM. 

What  Is  a  Dead  Letter  ?  —  "  Stickers  "  and  "  Nixies  "  —  8,000,000  of  Dead 
Letters  and  Packages  a  Year  —  Opening  the  "  Dead  "  Mail  —  Guarding 


XX  CONTENTS. 

the  Secrets  of  Careless  Letter  Writers  —  Returning  $50,000  in  Money 
and  $1,200,000  in  Checks  Every  Year  — What  Becomes  of  the  Valuables 
Found  in  Letters  —  The  Fate  of  Letters  That  Cannot  Be  Returned  — 
Deciphering  Illegible  Scrawls  —  Common  Mistakes  —  Unusual  Errors 
—  Some  Odd  Directions  —  "  English  As  She  Is  Wrote  "  —  Some  Queer 
Requests  —  Travels  of  Misdirected  Letters  —  Remarkable  Work  of  an 
Expert  — 60,000  Missent  Photographs  Every  Year  — A  Huge  Book 
of  Photographs  —  Identifying  the  Faces  of  Loved  Ones  —  Tear 
Blinded  Mothers  —  Thousands  of  Unclaimed  Christmas  Gifts  —  The 
Dead-Letter  Museum  —  Odd  Things  Found  in  the  Mails  —  Snakes  and 
Horned  Toads  —  The  Lost  Ring  and  Its  Singular  Recovery  —  A  Baby 
Elephant  —  The  Two  Miniatures  —  Tokens  of  Love  and  Remem- 
brance—Messages from  the  Loved  Ones  at  Home  —  Dead-Letter 
Auction  Sales.  .  330 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  DAY  IN  THE  PATENT-OFFICE  —  A  PALACE  OF  AMERICAN 
INVENTIVE  GENIUS  AND  SKILL  — CRAZY  INVENTORS  — 
FREAKS  AND  THEIR  PATENTS. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  and  Its  Functions  —  The  Patent-Office  — ~ 
Issuing  One  Hundred  Patents  a  Day  —  Abraham  Lincoln's  Patent  — 
How  To  Secure  a  Patent  —  Patent  Attorneys  and  How  They  Obtain  Big 
Fees  —  Hesitating  To  Accept  a  Million  Dollars  —  What  Is  a  Patent? — 
A  Minister  Who  Discovered  "Perpetual  Motion"  —Preposterous  Let 
ters  and  Odd  Inventions  — A  Dead  Baby  Used  as  a  "Model"— A 
Patent  for  Fishing  Worms  out  of  the  Human  Stomach  —  A  Patent  for 
Exterminating  Lions  and  Tigers  by  the  Use  of  Catmint  —  Killing  Grass- 
Hoppers  with  Artillery— Crazy  Inventors  —  Freaks  and  Their  Patents— 
A  Patent  for  a  Cow-Tail  Holder  —  Eccentric  Letters  —  Amusing  Speci- 
mens of  Correspondence  —  A  Cat  and  Rat  Scarer  — The  Man  with 
the  Long,  Black  Clerical  Coat  —  An  Indignant  and  Disgusted 
Applicant  — "I  am  from  Bay  City  "  —  Great  Fortunes  from  Small 
Inventions "...  349 

CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  PENSION  BUREAU  —  CLAIMANTS  AND  THEIR  PETITIONS 
-SNARES  AND  PIT-FALLS  FOR  THE  UNWARY. 

A  Vast  Deluge  of  Pension  Papers  —  Caring  For  a  Million  Pensioners  — 
Disbursing  $132,000,000  a  Year -The  "Alarm  Act  "-Pension  Laws 
and  Regulations  —  Who  Are  Entitled  to  Pensions  —  Method  of  Pro- 
cedure—How  Claims  Are  Filed  and  Examined  — Guarding  the  Rolls 
Against  *  raud  —  Medical  Examinations  —  Disgruntled  Applicants  — 
Suspicious  Cases  and  "Irregular"  Claims  -'<  Widows  "-  Doctors 
*  ^•1f,a?,ree~1AnTJndiSnant  Captain  — Living  on  "  Corn-bread  and 
Sour  Milk  -Why  Decisions  Are  Delayed  -  Special  Examinations— 
*nr?Thn^  4PmSt  Swindlers,  Imposters,  and  Frauds -Claim  Agents 
and  Their  Ways  -Forging  Evidence  and  Affidavits  -  Pension  Attor- 
neys and  Their  Tricks -"Swapping"  Papers -Mean  and  Petty 
^01^-11^111^  Pension  Certificates  -  The 
Friend  —  His  Real  Enemies.  366 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  CENSUS  BUREAU  —  COUNTING  THE  NOSES  OF  EIGHTY 
MILLION  PEOPLE  -HOW  AND  WHY  IT  IS  DONE. 


gi 
Wi 


Why  the  Census  Is  Taken  Every  Ten  Years  —  Some  Pointed  Questions 
—  Tribulations  of  Enumerators  —  "None  of  Your  Business"  —  Be- 
inning of  the  Process  —  The  Scramble  for  Positions—  Pulling 
ires  To  Secure  Office  —  How  the  Census  Is  Taken  —  Starting 
50,000  Canvassers  in  One  Day  —  Disagreeable  Experiences  —  Meeting 
Shotguns  and  Savage  Dogs  —  "What  Is  Your  Age?"  —  Irate 
Females  —  How  the  Question  Is  Answered  by  Certain  Persons  — 
"Sweet  Sixteen"  —  "Fibbing"  a  Little  —  Keeping  Tabs  on  the 
Enumerators  —  Enormous  Amount  of  Detail  —  The  Punching  Ma- 
chine—Cost of  the  Census  of  1900—  The  Land  Office  and  Its 
Work  —  Settlers  and  Homeseekers  —  The  Geological  Survey  —  Its 
Interesting  Work  —  The  Indian  Bureau  —  How  Poor  "  Lo  "  Is  Cared 
For—  The  Bureau  of  Education.  .  .  .  *  .  .  376 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  DAY  IN  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  —  THE 
FARMER'S  FRIEND  AND  CO-WORKER  —  FREE  DISTRIBU- 
TION OF  CHOICE  AND  PURE  SEEDS  —  HOW  THEY  MAY 
BE  HAD  FOR  THE  ASKING. 

The  Farmer's  Real  Friend  —  The  Bureau  of  Agriculture  —  What  It  Has 
Done  and  Is  Now  Doing  for  Farmers  —  Investigating  Diseases  of  Do- 
mestic Live  Stock  —  How  It  Promotes  Dairy  Interests  —  Experiment 
Stations  —  Valuable  Free  Publications  for  Farmers  —  Interesting  Facts 
About  Mosquitoes  —  How  To  Kill  Insect  Pests  —  Facts  for  Fruit 
Growers  —  Examining  15,000  Birds'  Stomachs  —  Vindicating  the  Much- 
Maligned  Crow  —  Controlling  the  Spread  of  Weeds  —  Poisonous  Plants 
—  Adulterated  Seeds  —  Seeds  of  New  and  Choice  Varieties  —  Testing 
the  Purity  of  Seeds  —  Free  Distribution  of  Seeds  —  How  the  Finest 
and  Purest  Seeds  May  Be  Had  for  Nothing  —  Great  Opposition  of 
Private  Seedsmen  —  Diseases  of  Plants  —  Something  About  Grasses  — 
The  Agricultural  Museum.  .....  Y  V  386 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE    WEATHER    BUREAU  —  FORECASTING    THE    WEATHER 

—  WONDERFUL   INSTRUMENTS,    KITES,    AND    WEATHER 
MAPS. 

Forecasting  the  Weather  —  Old  Theories  of  Storms  —  The  Path  of  Storms 

—  "  Old  Probabilities"  at  Home  —  General  Principles  of  Storms  —  In 
the    Forecasting-Room  —  A    Curious    Map    and    Its    Little    Tags  — 
"  Weather  Sharps"  at  Work  —  How  Weather  Observations  Are  Made 

—  "  Fair  and  Warmer"  and  "  Partly  Cloudy  "  —  Noting  the  Direction 


CONTENTS. 

of  the  Wind  — Where  Storms  Are  First  Noticed  —  General  Move- 
ment of  Storms  —  Traveling  600  Miles  a  Day— "High"  Pressure 
and  "Low"  Pressure  —  Winter  Storms  —  Where  They  Originate  — 
Where  Hurricanes  Are  Bred  —  Hot  Waves  and  Cold  Waves  —  Import- 
ing Weather  from  Canada  — Where  Storms  Disappear  —  Perplexing 
Problems  for  the  Forecaster  —  Predicting  Dangerous  Storms  — Warn- 
ings of  Danger  —  Emergency  Warnings  —  A  Visit  to  the  Instrument- 
Room  —  Ingenious  and  Delicate  Instruments  —  How  New  Discoveries 
are  Made  — Kites  that  Fly  to  a  Height  of  Three  Miles  — Interesting 
Experiments  with  Kites 396 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

IN  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE  — THE  PRESIDENT'S  LAW- 
YER—THE  SUPREME  COURT  AND  ITS  BLACK-ROBED 
DIGNITARIES  — THE  HEAVEN  OF  LEGAL  AMBITION. 

The  Majesty  of  the  Law  —  The  Department  of  Justice — Duties  of  the 
Attorney-General  —  The  President's  Lawyer — Claims  Involving  Mil- 
lions of  Dollars  —  The  Highest  Legal  Tribunal  of  the  Nation  —  The 
Supreme  Court-Room  —  Giants  of  the  Past  —  The  Battle  Ground  of 
Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun  — Wise  and  Silent  Judges  —  Wheie 
Silence  and  Dignity  Reign  —  The  Technical  "Bench"  —  Illustrious 
Names— Why  the  Bust  of  Chief-Justice  Taney  Was  Long  Excluded 
from  the  Supreme  Court-Room  —  The  Man  who  Hastened  the  Civil 
War  —  The  Famous  Dred  Scott  Decision  —  Its  Far-Reaching  Effect  — 
A  Sad  Figure  —  Death  Comes  to  His  Relief — Sumner's  Relentless 
Opposition  —  Black-Robed  Dignitaries  —  Ceremonious  Opening  of  the 
Court  —  An  Antique  Little  Speech  —  Gowns  or  Wigs?  — The  Robing 
and  Consultation-Rooms  —  Salaries  of  the  Justices  —  A  Tragedy  that 
Occurred  in  the  Basement  of  the  Law  Library  —  The  Dead  and 
Mangled  Body  of  its  Designer 408 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS  — ONE  OF  THE  COSTLIEST  AND 
MOST  BEAUTIFUL  BUILDINGS  IN  THE  WORLD  —  ITS 
MURAL  PAINTINGS  AND  WONDERFUL  MOSAICS. 

A  Library  for  the  People  —  Costly  Books  and  Priceless  Treasures  of  Art 
Free  to  All  — A  Marvelously  Beautiful  Building  — How  It  Was 
Planned  —Its  Great  Cost  —  Approaches  to  the  Building  — The  Mam- 
moth Bronze  Doors  —  Entering  Into  Another  World  —A  Stroll  Through 
Beautiful  Marble  Halls  and  Corridors  -  Marvels  in  Mosaic— How  the 
Mosaic  Ceilings  Were  Constructed  —  The  Mural  Paintings  and  Wall 
Decorations  — A  Fairy  Scene  by  Night  —  Countless  Electric  Lights  — 
Famous  Mosaic  of  Minerva  — A  Marvelous  Achievement— The  Lan- 
tern at  the  Top  of  the  Dome  —  Architectural  Splendors  —  Ingenious 
Apparatus  for  Carrying  Books -How  Senators  and  Congressmen 
Receive  Books  m  Three  Minutes  — An  Ingenious  Underground  Tunnel 
—  Forty-five  Miles  of  Strips  of  Steel.  .  417 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS,  CONTINUED  —  AMONG  ITS 
BOOKS  AND  PRICELESS  TREASURES. 

Early  Struggles  of  the  Library  —  Starting  with  1,000  Books  and  Nine 
Maps  —  Thomas  Jefferson's  Contribution  —  Destroyed  by  Fire  —  A 
Famous  Librarian  —  Marvelous  Growth  of  the  Library  —  Nearly  a 
Million  Volumes  —  Some  Priceless  Old  Books  —  A  Unique  Collection 
of  Political  Handbills  —  Some  Remarkable  Volumes  and  Still  More 
Remarkable  Illustrations  —  The  "Breeches  Bible"  —  The  "Bug 
Bible  "—Eliot's  Indian  Bible  — A  Book  Which  No  One  Can  Read  Val- 
ued at  $1,500  —  Valuable  Manuscripts  and  Papers  of  Early  Presidents 
—  A  Collection  of  300,000  Pieces  of  Music  — The  Map-Room  — A 
Wonderful  Collection  of  Maps  and  Atlases — Reading-Room  for  the 
Blind  —  A  Unique  Institution '  .  .439 

CHAPTER  XXYIII. 

THE  WASHINGTON  MONUMENT— THE  MOST  IMPOSING  MON- 
UMENT EVER  ERECTED  IN  HONOR  OF  ONE  MAN— THE 
CORCORAN  GALLERY  OF  ART. 

^ 

The  Greatest  Monument  in  the  World  —  It  Bears  No  Inscription  and  Needs 
None  —  Piercing  the  Sky  —  A  Sublime  Picture  —  First  Steps  to  Erect 
a  Monument  to  the  Memory  of  Washington  —  A  Request  that  the  Re- 
mains of  Washington  Be  Interred  in  the  Capitol  —  The  Request  Re- 
fused —  How  the  Money  Was  Raised  for  a  Monument  —  Vexatious 
Delays  —  Its  Completion  and  Cost  —  The  Highest  Structure  of  Stone 
in  the  World  —  Its  Dimensions  and  Height  —  Struck  by  Lightning  — 
The  Ascent  to  the  Top  in  an  Elevator— What  It  Costs  Uncle  Sam 
To  Carry  Visitors  Up  and  Down  —  The  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art  — 
Its  Treasures  of  Art  —  A  Wonderful  Collection.  .  .  453 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  AND  ITS  MYSTERIES  —  HOW  GOVERN- 
MENT POSITIONS  ARE  OBTAINED  —  WOMEN  IN  THE  DE- 
PARTMENTS—WOMAN'S INFLUENCE  AT  THE  CAPITOL. 

What  Is  the  Civil  Service  ?  —  How  Heads  of  Bureaus  Are  Appointed  — 
The  "Spoils"  System  —  Difficulty  of  Obtaining  a  Government  Posi- 
tion—  The  Importance  of  Having  a  "Political  Pull"  —  Attraction  of 
Good  Pay  and  Short  Hours  —  Doing  as  Little  as  Possible  —  How  To 
Obtain  a  Government  Position  —  The  Chances  of  Getting  It — Influ- 
ence of  Local  Politicians  —  The  Government  Blue  Book  —  Complex 
Rules  and  Mysterious  Injunctions —Taking  an  Examination  —  A 
Mysterious  Marking  Process  —  What  Is  "An  Eligible  "  ?  —  Bitter  Dis- 
appointments and  Shattered  Hopes — Position  Brokers  —  Mr.  Parasite 
in  Office  —  Abject  Political  Beggars 461 


XXVi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXY. 

THE  NEWS  BUREAUS  OF  WASHINGTON  — KEEPING  AN  EYE 
ON  OTHER  NATIONS  — HOW  NEWS  IS  INSTANTLY  OB- 
TAINED FROM  AND  TRANSMITTED  TO  ANY  PART  OF 
THE  WORLD. 

The  Washington  Headquarters  of  a  Hundred  Newspaper  Bureaus  —  Keen 
Newspaper  Men  —  How  the  News  Is  Gathered  —  Transmitting  It  to 
All  the  World  — The  Ceaseless  Click  of  the  Telegraph  —  Operations 
Far  Beneath  the  Surface  —  The  Best-Posted  Men  in  Washington  — 
' '  Newspaper  Sense  "  —  How  the  Wires  for  News  Are  Laid  —  Antici- 
pating Future  Events  —  Secret  Sources  of  Information — "Cover- 
ing" Anything  and  Anybody  —  Receiving  News  "Tips"  —  Running 
Down  Rumors  —  Officials  Who  "Leak"  —  How  Great  Secrets  Are 
Unconsciously  Divulged  —  Putting  This  and  That  Together  — 
Reporters'  Tactics  —  Keeping  an  Eye  on  the  State  Department  — 
Scenting  News  —  "  Work  Is  Easy  When  Times  Are  Newsy  "  —  Study- 
ing the  Weak  and  Strong  Points  of  Public  Men  —  At  the  Mercy  of 
Newspapers. 509 


CHAPTER  XXXYI. 

WASHINGTON  STREET  LIFE  —  SOUTHERNERS,  WESTERNERS, 
AND  NEW  ENGLANDERS  — LIFE  AMONG  THE  COLORED 
PEOPLE  — INTERESTING  SIGHTS  AND  SCENES. 

A  Unique  City  —  Sights  and  Scenes  on  Washington  Streets  —  Taking  Life 
Easy  —  Living  on  Uncle  Sam  —  Mingling  With  the  Passing  Throng  — 
Life  in  Washington  Boarding  Houses  —  Politicians  From  the  Breezy 
West  —  Politicians  From  "  Way  Down  East"— The  Ubiquitous  "Col- 
ored Pusson"— The  Negroes'  Social  Status  in  Washington  —  Negro 
Genteel  Society  —  Negro  Editors,  Professors,  and  Teachers  — The 
"Smart"  Negro  Set  — Colored  Congregations  and  Church  Service  — 
Whistling  Darkies  —  Making  Night  Hideous  —  Life  in  Colored  Settle- 
ments—Some Wealthy  Negroes  — How  They  Became  Rich  — "Bad 
Niggers"— The  Paradise  of  Children  —  Morning  Sights  and  Scenes 
at  the  Markets  —Where  Riches  and  Poverty  Meet  —  Fair  Women  Who 
Carry  Market  Baskets  —  Getting  Used  to  Washington  Life.  .  518 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

BEAUTIFUL  AND  SACRED  ARLINGTON  -  ITS  ROMANCE  AND 
ITS  HISTORY  — THE  SILENT  CITY  OF  THE  NATION'S 
DEAD  — THE  SOLDIER'S  HOME. 

Where  Peace  and  Silence  Reign  — "The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead"  — The 
Story  of  Arlington  — The  Graves  of  Nearly  17,000  Soldiers  — How 


CONTENTS.  XXVli 

George  Washington  Managed  the  Property  —  How  General  Robert  E. 
Lee  Inherited  the  Estate  —  The  Gathering  Clouds  of  Civil  War  —  A 
Sad  Parting  —  Leaving  Arlington  Forever  —  Approach  of  the  Union 
Troops  —  Flight  of  Mrs.  Lee  and  Her  Children  —  Her  Pathetic  Return 
to  the  Old  Home  After  the  War  — The  Graves  of  Distinguished 
Officers  —  The  Tomb  to  the  Unknown  Dead  —  One  Grave  for  Over 
2,000  Unknown  Soldiers — A  Touching  Inscription  —  The  Graves  of 
600  Soldiers  of  the  Spanish- American  War — Where  the  Dead  of  the 
Battleship  Maine  Are  Buried  —  Memorial  Day  at  Arlington  —  Where 
Forty  Soldiers  Lie  Alone  —  A  Touching  Incident  —  Thinking  of  the 
Dim  Past  —  The  Tomb  of  General  Logan 527 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

A  DAY  AT  MOUNT  VERNON  — AMID  THE  SCENES  OF  GEORGE 
AND  MARTHA  WASHINGTON'S  HOME  LIFE— THEIR  LAST 
RESTING-PLACE. 

The  Old  Mansion  at  Mount  Vernpn  —  Its  Story  —  How  It  Was  Saved  for 
the  Nation  —  The  Married  Life  of  George  and  Martha  Washington  — 
His  Life  as  a  Farmer — His  Daily  Routine  —  His  Large  Force  of 
Workmen  and  Slaves  —  Out  of  Butter  —  Washington's  Devotion  to 
His  Wife  —  Ordering  Her  Clothes  —  A  Runaway  Cook  —  Looking  for 
a  Housekeeper — "Four  Dollars  at  Christmas  with  Which  To  Be 
Drunk  Four  Days  and  Four  Nights  "  —  His  Final  Illness  and  Death  — 
The  Bed  on  Which  He  Died  — Dastardly  Attempt  To  Rob  His  Grave 

—  Death  of  Mrs.  Washington  —  The  Attic  Room  in  Which  She  Died 

—  What  Was  Found  in  the  Old  Vault  —  Removing  the  Remains  to 
the  New  Vault  —  Opening  the  Coffins  — The  New  Tomb  — A  Tour 
Through  the  Mansion .„        ,        *  -'.  ..     543 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE -FAIR  AND  STATELY  WOMEN  WHO 
REIGNED  IN  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION  IN  EARLY  DAYS. 

A  Morning  Dream  —  Memories  of  Martha  Washington  —  Her  Educational 
Disadvantages — An  Average  Matron  and  Thrifty  Housewife  —  Her 
Virtues  and  Moral  Rectitude  —  Ministering  to  the  Suffering  Soldiers 
at  Valley  Forge  —  Washington's  Letters  to  His  Wife  — "My  Dear 
Patsy"  —  Domestic  Affairs  at  Mount  Vernon  —  Giving  Her  Husband 
a  Curtain-Lecture  —  An  Englishman  Who  Was  "  Struck  With  Awe  " 
—  Martha  Washington's  Seclusion  and  Death  —  Abigail  Adams,  Wife 
of  President  John  Adams  — Adams'  Early  Love  Affairs  —  Life  in  the 
Unfinished  White  House  —  A  Lively  Picture  —  Not  Enough  Coal  or 
Wood  To  Keep  Warm  —  Some  Interesting  Details  —  Drying  the  Family 
Wash  in  the  Great  East  Room  —  Jefferson's  Grief  at  the  Death  of  His 
Wife  —  How  Jefferson  Blacked  His  Own  Boots  —  A  Dignified 
Foreigner  Shocked  — "We  Saved  de  Fiddle."  .  .  .  .570 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE  XL. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  THE  MOST  BRILLIANT 
SOCIAL  QUEEN  WHO  EVER  REIGNED  IN  THE  EXECUTIVE 
MANSION. 

A  Famous  Social  Queen  —  Gallants  in  Small-Clothes  and  Queues  —  An 
Indignant  Barber—  "  Little  Jim  Madison"—  "  Dolly  "  Madison's  Gifts 
and  Graces  —  "  The  Most  Popular  Person  in  the  United  States  "  —  Her 
Social  Nature  and  Exquisite  Tact  —  Her  Bountiful  Table  —  Ridiculed 
by  a  Foreign  Minister  —  Mrs.  Madison's  Happy  Reply  —  Her  Wonder- 
ful Memory  of  Persons  and  Incidents  —  The  Adventure  of  a  Rustic 
Youth  —  Thrusting  a  Cup  of  Coffee  into  His  Pocket  —  Her  Heroism 
in  the  Hour  of  Danger  —  Fleeing  from  the  White  House  —  Mrs. 
Madison's  Snuff-Box  —  "  This  Is  for  Rough  Work  "  and  "  This  Is  My 
Polisher"  —  Two  Plain  Old  Ladies  from  the  West  —  Unusual  Honors 
by  Congress  —  Her  Last  Days  —  Her  Death  and  Burial  —  Singular 
Mistakes  on  Her  Monument  ........  586 

CHAPTER  XLI. 


THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  SOME  WOMEN  OF  NOTE 
—  MEMORABLE  SCENES  AND  ENTERTAINMENTS  AT  THE 
WHITE  HOUSE. 

A  Serene  and  Aristocratic  Woman  —  Entertaining  With  Great  Elegance  — 
Interesting  Incident  in  Mrs.  Monroe's  Foreign  Life  —  Visiting  Madame 
Lafayette  in  Prison  —  Changing  ihe  Mind  of  Blood-Thirsty  Tyrants  — 
Sharing  the  Dungeon  of  Her  Husband  —  An  Opinion  Plainly  Ex- 
pressed —  An  Evening  at  the  White  House  —  Creating  a  Sensation  at  a 
Presidential  Reception  —  An  Amusing  but  Untruthful  Picture  —  Dis- 
graceful Condition  of  the  White  House  Surroundings  —  Using  the 
Great  East  Room  for  a  Children's  Play-Room  —  Mrs.  John  Quincy 
Adams  —  Long  and  Lonely  Journey  s  —  Life  in  Russia  —  The  Ladies' 
Costumes  —  Old-Time  Beaux  and  Belles  —  "Smiling  for  the  Presi- 
dency"— A  President  Who  Masked  His  Feelings—  "My  Wife 
Combed  Your  Head"  —  Calling  on  an  "Iceberg."  .  .  .  599 


CHAPTEE  XLII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  PRESIDENTS'  WIVES 
WHO  NEVER  ENTERED  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

President  Andrew  Jackson  and  Mrs.  Rachel  Robards  —  The  Story  of  Jack- 
son's Courtship  —  An  Innocent  Mistake  —  Jackson's  Resentful  Dispo- 
sition —  His  Morbid  Sensitiveness  About  His  Wife's  Reputation  — 
"  Do  You  Dare,  Villain,  To  Mention  Her  Sacred  Name  ?  "  —  His  Duel 
with  Governor  Sevier  —  A  Tragical  Experience  —  Kills  Charles  Dick- 


CONTENTS. 

inson  in  a  Duel  —  Mrs.  Jackson's  Piety — Her  Influence  Over  Her 
Husband  —  His  Profanity  and  Quick  Temper  —  Her  Unwillingness  To 
Preside  at  the  White  House  —  An  Arrow  that  Pierced  Her  Heart  — 
Her  Agonizing  Death  —  He  Enters  the  White  House  a  Widower  — 
Faithful  to  Her  Memory  —  Children  Bora  in  the  White  House  —  The 
Story  of  a  Baby  Curl  —  A  Widowed  and  Saddened  Woman  —  Accept- 
ing a  Clerkship  in  the  Treasury  —  "Try  Him  in  Irish,  Jimmy"  — 
An  Astonished  Minister  —  The  Wife  of  President  Van  Buren —  The 
Wife  of  President  William  Henry  Harrison 608 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  SOME  BRIDES  OF  THE 
WHITE  HOUSE  —  A  PRESIDENT'S  WIFE  WHO  PRAYED  FOR 
HIS  DEFEAT. 

The  Courtship  of  President  John  Tyler  —  Engaged  for  Five  Years  —  Kiss- 
ing His  Sweetheart's  Hand  for  the  First  Time  —  An  Old-Time  Lover  — 
Death  of  Mrs.  Tyler  in  the  White  House  —  The  Young  and  Beautiful 
Mrs.  Robert  Tyler  —  A  Former  Actress  —  From  the  Footlights  to  the 
Executive  Mansion  —  "Can  This  be  I?" — "Actually  Living  in  the 
White  House  !  " — Recalling  Her  Theatrical  Career  —  President  Tyler's 
Second  Bride  —  His  Son's  Account  of  the  Courtship  —  The  Wife  of 
President  Polk  —  Folk's  Courtship  —  Mrs.  Folk's  Great  Popularity  — 
Acting  as  Private  Secretary  to  Her  Husband  —  "  Sarah  Knows  Where 
It  Is"— The  Wife  of  General  Zachary  Taylor  —  Her  Devotion  to  Her 
Husband  —  An  Unwilling  Mistress  of  the  White  House  —  Praying  for 
Her  Husband's  Defeat  —  Shunning  the  White  House  and  Society  — 
"It  is  a  Plot"  —  A  Lady  of  the  White  House  Ridiculed  and 
Reproached  —  " Betty  Bliss"  —  A  Vision  of  Loveliness  —  Death  of 
President  Taylor. .  .  .  .  ......  .  ,  620 


CHAPTER  XLIY. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  FROM  THE  VILLAGE 
SCHOOL  TO  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Fillmore  — How  She  First  Met  Her  Husband,  Afterward 
President  Fillmore  —  A  Clothier's  Apprentice  —  An  Engagement  of 
Five  Years  —  Building  a  Humble  House  with  His  Own  Hands  — 

—  Working  and  Struggling  Together  —  Entering  the  White  House  as 
Mistress  —  Mrs.  Fillmore's  Death  —  The  Memory  of  a  Loving  Wife  — 

—  The  Wife  of  President  Franklin  Pierce  —  Entering  the  White  House 
Under  the  Shadow  of  Death  —  A  Shocking  Accident  —  Grief-Stricken 
Parents  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Pierce  — Last  Days  of  President  Pierce  — 
The  Mistake  of  a  Life-Time  —  James  Buchanan's  Administration  — 
The  Brilliant  Harriet  Lane  —  Why  Buchanan  Never  Married  —  Miss 
Lane's  Reign  at  the  White  House  —  Entertaining  the  Prince  of  Wales 

—  Buchanan's  Last  Days  —  The  Odious  Administration  of  a  Vacillat- 
ing President  —  Miss  Lane's  Marriage 632 


XXX  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XLV. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED— MRS.  ABRAHAM  LIN- 
COLN—THE WHITE  HOUSE  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

The  First  Love  of  Abraham  Lincoln  —  His  Grief  at  Her  Loss  —  His  Second 
Love  —  Engaged  to  Miss  Mary  Todd,  His  Third  Love  —  Wooed  by 
Douglas  and  Lincoln  —  The  Wedding  Deferred  —  Lincoln's  Marriage 
—  Character  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  —  Fulfillment  of  a  Life-Long  Ambition  — 
The  Mutterings  of  Civil  War  —  Newspaper  Gossip  and  Criticism  of 
Mrs.  Lincoln  —  Noble  Work  of  Women  During  the  Dark  Days  of  the 
Civil  War  —  Mrs.  Lincoln's  Neglect  of  Her  Opportunity  to  Endear 
Herself  to  the  Nation  —  The  Dead  and  Dying  in  Washington  —  Death 
of  Willie  Lincoln  — Wild  Anguish  of  His  Mother  — The  President 
Assassinated — Intense  Excitement  in  Washington — A  Nation  in  Mourn- 
ing—  Mrs.  Lincoln's  Mind  Unbalanced  —  Petitions  Congress  for  a 
Pension  — Death  of  Mrs.  Lincoln.  ...  643 


CHAPTER  XLYI. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — SOME  BRAVE  AND 
HUMBLE  MISTRESSES  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

The  Wife  of  President  Andrew  Johnson  —  A  Ragged  Urchin  and  a  Street 
Arab  —  Johnson's  Ignorance  at  Eighteen  —  Taught  to  Write  by  the 
Village  School-Teacher  —  He  Marries  Her  —  Following  the  Humble 
Trade  of  a  Tailor  —  His  Wife  Teaches  Him  While  He  Works  —  Begin- 
ning  of  His  Political  Career  —  The  Ravages  of  Civil  War  in  Tennessee 

—  Two   Years  of  Exile  — Hunted  From  Place  to  Place  —  Secretly 
Burying  the  Dead  — A  Night  of  Horrors  —  Re-united  to  Her  Husband 

—  Entering  the  White  House  Broken  in  Health  and  Spirits  — "My 
Dears,  I  Am  an  Invalid  "  —  The  Reign  of  Martha  Patterson,  President 
Johnson's  Oldest  Daughter— "We  Are  Plain  People  "  —  Wrestling 
with    Rags    and    Ruin  — Noble  and   Self-denying    Women  — Noble 
Characters  of  Johnson's  Wife  and  Daughters 656 


CHAPTER  XLVIL 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  MRS.  GRANT'S  REIGN 
AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

The  Youth  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant  —  His  Standing  at  West  Point  —  Intimacy 
With  the  Dent  Family  — Meets  His  Future  Wife  — Finding  Out 
''What  Was  the  Matter"  — A  Half -Drowned  Lover  —  Engagement  to 
MissDent  — A  Bride  at  a  Western  Army  Post  —  Assuming  New  Re- 
sponsibilities —  At  the  Beginning  of  the  Civil  War  — Mrs.  Grant  as 
the  Wife  of  a  Gallant  Soldier  — Her  Ceaseless  Anxieties  —  Inspiring 


CONTENTS.  XXXI 

and  Encouraging  Her  Husband  —  His  Election  to  the  Presidency  — 
Remembering  Old  Friends  —  The  Grant  Children  and  Their  Playmates 
at  the  White  House  —  Marriage  of  Nellie  Grant  —  Simple  and  Happy 
Family  Life  —  General  Grant's  Reverses  and  Physical  Suffering  — 
Mrs.  Grant  in  Later  Years 663 


CHAPTEK  XLVIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — THE  REFINING  REIGN 
OF  MRS.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

A  Woman  of  Remarkable  Ability  —  Meets  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  a  Rising 
Young  Lawyer — Their  Marriage  —  General  Hayes'  Brilliant  Army 
Record  —  Promoted  to  General  for  Extraordinary  Services  —  Wounded 
Four  Times  —  Mrs.  Hayes'  Visits  to  Her  Wounded  Husband  —  Two 
Winters  in  Camp  —  Ministering  to  the  Sick  and  Wounded  —  Gen- 
eral Hayes  Elected  President  —  Mrs.  Hayes'  Reign  in  the  White  House 

—  Her  Personal  Appearance  and  Traits  of  Character  —  Her  Dignified 
and    Charming   Presence  —  Banishing    Wine    from    the    President's 
Table  —  Her  Love  of  Flowers  —  Magnificent  Dinners  and  Receptions 

—  A  Superb  State  Dinner  to  Royalty  —  Returning  to  Their  Modest 
Home  —  Death  of  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes.     .....      674 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  GARFIELD'S  AND 
ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

President  James  A.  Garfield  and  His  Wife  —  From  a  Log  Cabin  to  the 
White  House  —  His  First  Ambition  —  First  Meeting  with  Miss  Ru- 
dolph —  Pupils  in  the  Same  School  —  Their  Engagement  —  Garfield's 
Enviable  War  Record  —  Advancing  Step  by  Step  to  Fame  —  His  Mar- 
riage and  Election  to  the  Presidency  —  His  Tribute  to  His  Devoted 
Wife  —  His  Assassination  —  Brave  Fight  for  Life  —  Weary  Weeks  of 
Torture  —  His  Death  and  Burial  —  James  G.  Elaine's  Remarkable 
Eulogy  —  Mrs.  Garfield's  Devotion  and  Christian  Fortitude  —  A  Brave 
and  Silent  Watcher  —  Intense  Grief  —  Leaving  the  White  House  For- 
ever—  President  Chester  A.  Arthur '.  .  684 


CHAPTER  L. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — A  YOUTHFUL  BRIDE 
AS  MISTRESS  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

A  Bachelor  President  —  Managing  Mammas  with  Marriageable  Daughters 
— Brief  Reign  of  the  President's  Sister  —  An  Intellectual  and  Self -Re- 


XXXil  CONTENTS. 

liant  Woman  —  The  President's  Engagement  to  Miss  Frances  Folsom 
—  A  Well-Guarded  Family  Secret  —  The  President  Meets  His  Fiancee 
at  New  York— Preparations  for  the  Wedding  — Miss  Folsom's  Ap- 
pearance—Preparing to  Receive  Herat  the  White  House  —  Arrival  of 
the  Eventful  Day  —  The  President's  Unconventional  Invitation  to  His 
Wedding  —  The  Wedding  Procession  and  the  Ceremony  —  A  Beautiful 
Bride  —  Mrs.  Cleveland's  Popular  Reign  —  Winning  Universal  Admi- 
ration —  Her  Return  to  the  White  House  —Why  She  Lost  Interest  in 
Social  Functions  —  Retirement  to  Private  Life  —  A  Growing  Family  — 
A  Quiet  Home  and  Domestic  Bliss 698 


CHAPTEE  LI. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  THE  REIGN  AND 
DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

Boyhood  Days  of  Benjamin  Harrison  —  His  Life  on  His  Father's  Farm  — 
The  Influence  of  His  Mother's  Example  —  He  Becomes  "Enamored 
of  an  Interesting  Young  Lady  " —  His  Early  Marriage  —  Working  for 
$2. 50  a  Day  —  Setting  up  Housekeeping  in  a  House  of  Three  Rooms 
—  Helping  His  Wife  with  Her  Household  Duties  —  A  Rising  Young 
Lawyer  —  Enlists  in  the  Civil  War  —  His  Enviable  War  Record  —  Be- 
comes Brigadier-General  —  Elected  President  of  the  United  States  — 
His  Wife  a  True  Helpmate  — A  Devoted  Wife  and  Mother— Reno- 
vating the  White  House  From  Cellar  to  Garret  —  Burning  of  the 
Home  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  —  Tragic  Death  of  His  Wife  and 
Daughter  — How  the  Tragedy  Affected  Mrs.  Harrison  — Her  Illness 
and  Death  —The  President's  Marriage  to  Mrs.  Dimmick  —  His  Illness 
aad  Death  —  Affecting  Scenes  at  His  Bedside 706 


CHAPTEE  LIL 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — PRESIDENT  AND  MRS. 
McKINLEY'S  REIGN. 

The  House  in  Which  William  McKinley,  Jr.,  was  Born  — His  Work  for 
the  Family  Woodpile  —  How  He  Obtained  an  Education  —  Striding 
'Across  Lots"  to  Teach  School  —  Enlisting  as  a  Private  Soldier  in 
the  Civil  War  —  His  Conspicuous  Gallantry  and  Rapid  Promotion  — 
Begins  the  Study  of  Law  — His  First  Case  in  Court— The  Bow-legged 
Man  Who  Lost  His  Case  for  Damages  —  He  Wooes  and  Wins  Miss  Ida 
Saxton  — Their  Marriage  and  Early  Home  Life  —  Death  of  Their  Two 
Children  — Elected  to  Congress  — Elected  Governor  of  Ohio— Elected 
President  of  the  United  States  —  Mrs.  McKinley  at  the  White  House 
^l uAntirmo  Devotion  of  the  President  to  His  Invalid  Wife  — Hands 
lhat  Are  Never  Idle  — A  Patient  and  Resigned  Invalid  — Her 
Favorite  Room  in  the  White  House.  .  721 


^4D%P  C-^S^-^a-^OTD  X0^  *efZmes.^T*  ^^  ^•**~t  •*ZS&-~-      *  "^  «^i  —  * 

Thirty  Yeais  in  Washington  • 


£DITED  BY 


CHAPTEK  I. 

THE  SITE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  AND  HOW  IT  WAS 
SELECTED  — EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  TRIALS. 

The  Prophet  of  the  Capital  —  Forecasting  the  Future  —  A  Government 
Moving  Slowly  and  Painfully  About  on  Wheels  —  Insulted  by  a  Band 
of  Mutineers  — Troubles  and  Trials— Washington's  Humble  Ideas  of 
a  President's  House  —  Renting  and  Furnishing  a  Modest  Home  — 
Spartan  Simplicity  —  Madison's  Indignation  —  "Going  West"  — 
Where  is  the  Center  of  Population  ?  —  A  Dinner  and  What  Came  of 
it  —  Sweetening  a  "Peculiarly  Bitter  Pill"  —  A  "Revulsion  of  Stom- 
ach "  —  End  of  a  Long  and  Bitter  Strife. 

HE  Capital  of  his  country  should  be  the  Mecca  of 
every  citizen  of  the  United  States.     The  richest 
and  most  influential  man  in  the  Nation  has  no 
proprietary  rights  in  its  magnificent  government 
buildings,  in  the  marvelous  and  manifold  industries 
and  gigantic  operations  carried  on  within  them,  in  its 
treasures  of  Art  and  Literature,  its  costly  paintings  and 
historic    statues,    and    the    mammoth    colle^tton?,  ,  in    its 
museums,  that  do  not  belong  equally  to  the"  ToViissfr'  and 
humblest   citizen.     The   thoughts  of  millibns^who ;  $fciifc,cSC. 
make  pilgrimages  hither  to  behold  the  sights  ancf  scenes  of 
the  Federal  City  with  their  own  eyes,  are  constantly  turned 
toward  it.     Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  to  it  all  roads  lead, 
just  as  in  olden  days  all  roads  led  to  Home. 
3  (33) 


34  THE  PROPHET  OF  THE  CAPITAL. 

Ask  any  native  American  who  it  was  that  first  thought 
of  the  site  of  Washington  as  that  of  the  Capital  of  the  Great 
Eepublic  and  he  will  be  very  apt  to  reply  by  asking :  "  Who 
else  but  George  Washington? "  His  title  of  the  "  Father  of 
His  Country  "  was  not  entirely  earned  in  war.  In  peace  his 
ideas  and  his  wishes  dominated  the  noble  band  of  patriots 
that  founded  the  constitutional  government,  and  while  there 
is  no  real  evidence  that  Washington  first  marked  this  site 
for  the  Federal  City,  it  is  nevertheless  probable  that  he  did. 
At  least  tradition  has  it  that  when  as  a  young  surveyor,  and 
Captain  of  the  Yirginia  troops,  he  encamped  with  Brad- 
dock's  forces  on  Camp  Hill  *  overlooking  the  present  city  of 
Washington,  he  looked  down  as  Moses  looked  from  Nebo 
upon  the  promised  land,  until  he  saw  growing  before  his 
prophetic  vision  the  Capital  of  a  vast  and  free  people  then 
unborn.  The  woody  plain  upon  which  he  gazed  was  to 
others  the  undreamed-of  site  of  the  yet  undreamed-of  city  of 
the  Kepublic.  This  youth,  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Father 
of  the  Republic,  was  the  Prophet  of  its  Capital.  He  foresaw 
it,  in  time  he  chose  it,  he  faithfully  served  it,  he  ever  loved 
it ;  but  as  a  Capital  he  never  entered  it. 

Gazing  from  the  green  promontory  of  Camp  Hill,  the 
young  surveyor  looked  across  a  broad  amphitheater  of  roll- 
ing plain,  covered  with  native  oaks  and  undergrowth.  It 
was  not  these  only,  tradition  tells  us,  that  he  saw.  His  pre- 
scient vision  forecast  the  future.  He  saw  the  gently  rising 
hills  crowned  with  villas,  and  in  the  stead  of  oaks  and  under- 
growth, broa4  streets,  a  populous  city,  magnificent  buildings, 
outr#a3ilg'tbe  temples  of  antiquity  —  the  Federal  City,  the 
W^  °l  tte'  vast  Eepublic  yet  to  be !  The  dreary  camp, 
'ttre-weary'^maWE,  patient  endurance  of  privation,  cold,  and 
hunger,  the  long,  resolute  struggle,  hard-won  victory  at  last, 
all  these  were  to  be  outlived,  before  the  beautiful  Capital  of 
his  future  was  reached.  Did  the  youth  foresee  these,  also  ? 

*  Subsequently  and  until  1892  the  site  of  the  United  States  Observatory. 


A  GOVERNMENT  ON  WHEELS.  35 

Many  toiling,  struggling,  suffering  years  bridged  the  dream 
of  the  young  surveyor  and  the  first  faint  dawn  of  its  fulfill- 
ment. 

After  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  before  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  the  government  of  the  United 
States  moved  slowly  and  painfully  about  on  wheels.  As 
the  exigencies  of  war  demanded,  Congress  met  at  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore,  Lancaster,  York,  Princeton,  Annapolis, 
Trenton,  and  New  York.  During  these  troubled  years  it 
was  the  ambition  of  every  infant  State  to  claim  the  seat  of 
government.  For  this  purpose  New  York  offered  Kingston ; 
Rhode  Island,  Newport;  Maryland,  Annapolis;  Virginia, 
Williamsburg. 

June  21,  1T83,  Congress  was  insulted  at  Philadelphia  by 
a  band  of  mutineers  that  the  State  authorities  could  not  sub- 
due. The  body  adjourned  to  Princeton ;  and  the  troubles 
and  trials  of  its  itinerancy  caused  the  subject  of  a  per- 
manent national  seat  of  government  to  be  taken  up  and 
discussed  with  great  vehemence  from  that  time  till  the  form- 
ation of  the  Constitution.  This  insult  led  Congress  to  deter- 
mine that  wherever  the  Capital  was  placed,  it  should  be  in 
a  district  freed  from  any  State  control.  The  resolutions 
offered,  and  the  votes  taken  in  these  debates,  indicate  that 
the  favored  site  for  the  future  Capital  lay  somewhere  be- 
tween the  banks  of  the  Delaware  and  the  Potomac  —  "  near 
Georgetown,"  says  the  most  oft-repeated  sentence.  October 
30,  1784,  the  subject  was  discussed  by  Congress,  at  Trenton. 
A  long  debate  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  three  Commis- 
sioners, with  full  power  to  lay  out  a  district  not  exceeding 
three,  nor  less  than  two  miles  square,  on  the  banks  of  either 
side  of  the  Delaware,  for  a  Federal  town,  with  the  power  to 
buy  land  and  to  enter  into  contracts  for  the  building  of  a 
Federal  House,  President's  house,  house  for  Secretaries,  etc. 

Notwithstanding  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  these 
Commissioners  never  entered  upon  their  duties.  Probably 


36  WASHINGTON'S  FAVORED  PROJECT. 

the  lack  of  necessary  appropriations  did  not  hinder  them 
more  than  the  incessant  attempts  made  to  repeal  the  act 
appointing  the  Commissioners,  and  to  substitute  the  Potomac 
for  the  Delaware,  as  the  site  of  the  anticipated  Capital. 
Although  the  name  of  President  Washington  does  not 
appear  in  these  controversies,  even  then  the  dream  of  the 
young  surveyor  was  taking  on  in  the  President's  mind  the 
tangible  shape  of  reality.  First,  after  the  war  for  human 
freedom  and  the  declaration  of  national  independence,  was 
the  desire  in  the  heart  of  George  Washington  that  the  Capi- 
tal of  the  new  Nation  whose  armies  he  had  led  to  triumph, 
should  be  located  upon  the  banks  of  the  great  river  which 
rolled  past  his  home  at  Mount  Vernon  and  at  the  point 
where  he  had  foreseen  it  in  his  early  dream.  That  he  used 
undue  influence  with  the  successive  Congresses  which  debated 
and  voted  on  many  sites,  not  the  slightest  evidence  remains, 
and  the  nobility  of  his  character  forbids  the  supposition. 
But  the  final  decision  attests  the  prevailing  potency  of  his 
preferences  and  wishes,  and  the  immense  pile  of  correspond- 
ence which  he  has  left  on  the  subject  proves  that,  next  to 
the  establishment  of  its  independence,  the  founding  of  the 
Capital  of  the  Republic  was  dear  to  his  heart.  May  10, 
1787,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Virginia  and  Georgia  voted 
for,  and  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  Maryland 
against  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Lee  of  Virginia,  that  the 
Board  of  Treasury  should  take  measures  for  erecting  the 
necessary  public  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  Con- 
gress, at  Georgetown,  on  the  Potomac  Kiver,  as  soon  as  the 
land  and  jurisdiction  of  said  town  could  be  obtained.  But 
these  and  other  proposed  measures  led  to  no  immediate 
results. 

Many  and  futile  were  the  battles  fought  by  the  old  Con- 
tinental Congress  over  the  important  but  troublesome  ques- 
tion. These  battles  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  Section 
8,  Article  1,  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which 


RIVALRY  OF  THE   STATES.  37 

declares  that  Congress  shall  have  power  to  exercise  exclu- 
sive legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such  district 
(not  exceeding  ten  miles  square),  as  may,  by  cession  of  par- 
ticular States  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the 
seat  of  government  of  the  United  States.  This  article  was 
assented  to  by  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion, without  debate.  The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  was 
followed  spontaneously  by  most  munificent  acts  on  the  part 
of  several  States.  New  York  appropriated  its  public  build- 
ings to  the  use  of  the  new  government,  and  Congress  met  in 
that  city  April  6,  1789.  On  May  15  following,  Mr.  White 
of  Virginia  presented  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a 
resolve  of  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  offering  to  the  Fed- 
eral government  ten  miles  square  of  its  territory,  in  any 
part  of  that  State,  which  Congress  might  choose  as  the  seat 
of  the  Federal  government.  The  day  following,  Mr.  Seney 
presented  a  similar  act  from  the  State  of  Maryland.  Memo 
orials  and  petitions  followed  in  quick  succession  from  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey  and  Maryland.  The  resolution  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature  begged  for  the  co-operation  of  Mary- 
land, offering  to  advance  the  sum  of  $120,000  to  the  use  of 
the  general  government  toward  erecting  public  buildings,  if 
the  Assembly  of  Maryland  would  advance  two-fifths  of  a 
like  sum.  Whereupon  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  immedi- 
ately voted  to  cede  the  necessary  land,  and  to  provide  $72,- 
000  toward  the  erection  of  public  buildings. 

"  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  gratuitously  furnished 
elegant  and  convenient  accommodations  for  the  govern- 
ment" during  the  eleven  years  which  Congress  passed  in 
those  States,  and  offered  to  continue  to  do  the  same.  The 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  went  further  in  lavish  generos- 
ity, and  voted  a  sum  of  money  to  build  a  house  for  ohe  Pres- 
ident. When  George  Washington  saw  the  dimensions  of 
the  house  which  the  Pennsylvanians  were  building  for  the 
President's  Mansion,  he  informed  them  at  once  that  he 


38  BITTERNESS  AND  CONTENTION. 

would  never  occupy  it,  much  less  incur  the  expense  of  'buy- 
ing suitable  furniture  for  it.  In  those  Spartan  days  it  never 
entered  into  the  designs  of  the  State  to  buy  furniture  for  the 
"  Executive  Mansion."  Thus  the  Chief  Citizen,  instead  of 
accepting  a  pretentious  dwelling,  rented  and  furnished  a 
modest  house  belonging  to  Mr.  Robert  Morris. 

Meanwhile  the  great  battle  for  the  permanent  seat  of 
government  went  on  unceasingly  among  the  representatives 
of  conflicting  States.  No  modern  debate,  in  length  and  bit- 
terness, has  surpassed  this  of  the  first  Congress  under  the 
Constitution.  Nearly  all  agreed  that  New  York  was  not 
sufficiently  central.  There  was  an  intense  conflict  concern- 
ing the  relative  merits  of  Philadelphia  and  Germantown ; 
Havre  de  Grace  and  a  place  called  Wright's  Ferry,  on  the 
Susquehanna;  Baltimore  on  the  Patapsco,  and  Conoco- 
cheague  on  the  Potomac.  Mr.  Smith  proclaimed  the  advan- 
tages of  Baltimore,  and  the  fact  that  its  citizens  had  sub- 
scribed $40,000  for  public  buildings.  The  South  Carolinians 
cried  out  against  Philadelphia  because  of  its  majority  of 
Quakers  who,  they  said,  were  eternally  dogging  the  Southern 
members  with  their  schemes  of  emancipation.  Many  others 
ridiculed  the  project  of  building  palaces  in  the  woods.  Mr. 
Gerry  of  Massachusetts  declared  that  it  was  the  height  of 
unreasonableness  to  establish  the  seat  of  government  so  far 
south  that  it  would  place  nine  States  out  of  the  thirteen  so 
far  north  of  the  National  Capital ;  while  Mr.  Page  protested 
that  New  York  was  superior  to  any  place  that  he  knew 
for  the  orderly  and  decent  behavior  of  its  inhabitants. 

September  5,  1789,  a  resolution  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  "that  the  permanent  seat  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  ought  to  be  at  some  convenient 
place  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna,  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,"  The  passage  of  this  bill  awoke  the  deepest 
ire  in  the  members  from  the  South.  Mr.  Madison  declared 
that  if  the  proceedings  of  that  day  could  have  been  fore- 


SHOULD   IT  BE  A  COMMERCIAL,  CITY  ?  39 

seen  by  Virginia,  that  State  would  never  have  condescended 
to  become  a  party  to  the  Constitution. 

The  bill  passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  thirty-one  to 
nineteen.  The  Senate  amended  it  by  striking  out  "  Susque- 
hanna,"  and  inserting  a  clause  making  the  permanent  seat 
of  government  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  provided  tho 
State  of  Pennsylvania  should  give  security  to  pay  $100,000 
for  the  erection  of  public  buildings.  The  House  agreed  to 
these  amendments,  but  it  was  at  the  very  close  of  the 
session  and  never  reached  final  action. 

In  the  long  debates  and  pamphlets  of  1790,  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  seat  of  the  American  government  should 
be  a  commercial  capital  was  warmly  discussed.  Madison 
and  his  party  argued  that  the  only  way  to  insure  the  power 
of  exclusive  legislation  to  Congress  as  accorded  by  the  Con- 
stitution was  to  remove  the  Capital  as  far  from  commercial 
interests  as  possible.  They  declared  that  the  exercise  of 
this  authority  over  a  large  mixed  commercial  community 
would  be  impossible.  Conflicting  mercantile  interests 
would  cause  constant  political  disturbances,  and  when  party 
feelings  ran  high,  or  business  was  stagnant,  the  commercial 
capital  would  swarm  with  an  irritable  mob  brimful  of 
wrongs  and  grievances.  This  would  involve  the  necessity  of 
an  army  standing  in  perpetual  defense  of  the  capital.  Lon- 
don and  Westminster  were  cited  as  examples  where  the  com- 
mercial importance  of  a  single  city  had  more  influence  on 
the  measures  of  government  than  the  whole  empire  out- 
side. Sir  James  Macintosh  was  quoted,  wherein  he  said 
"  that  a  great  metropolis  was  to  be  considered  as  the  heart 
of  a  political  body  —  as  the  focus  of  its  powers  and  talents 
-^-as  the  direction  of  public  opinion,  and,  therefore,  as  a 
strong  bulwark  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  or  as  a  powerful 
engine  in  the  hands  of  an  oppressor."  To  prevent  the  Cap- 
ital of  the  Republic  becoming  the  latter,  the  Constitution 
deprived  it  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  hence  residents  of 


40  LOOKING  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 

the  District  of  Columbia  have  never  had  a  vote  in  federal 
elections  and  for  many  years  no  vote  even  in  local  affairs. 

In  view  of  the  vast  territory  now  comprehended  in  the 
United  States  the  provision  made  by  Congress  for  the  future 
growth  of  the  country  may  seem  meager  and  limited.  But 
when  we  remember  that  there  were  then  but  thirteen 
States,  that  railroads,  telegraphs,  and  the  wonderful  electric 
inventions  of  modern  times  were  undreamed  of  as  human 
possibilities — that  nearly  all  territory  west  of  the  Potomac 
was  an  unpenetrated  wilderness,  we  may  wonder  at  their 
prescience  and  wisdom,  rather  than  smile  at  their  lack  of 
foresight.  Even  in  that  early  and  clouded  morning  there 
were  statesmen  who  foresaw  the  later  glory  of  the  West 
foreordained  to  shine  on  far-off  generations.  Said  Mr. 
Madison  :  "  If  the  calculation  be  just  that  we  double  in 
fifty  years  we  shall  speedily  behold  an  astonishing  mass  of 
people  on  the  western  waters.  .  .  .  The  swarm  does  not 
come  from  the  southern  but  from  the  northern  and  eastern 
hives.  I  take  it  that  the  center  of  population  will  rapidly 
advance  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  It  must  then  travel 
from  the  Susquehanna  if  it  is  now  found  there  —  it  may 
even  extend  beyond  the  Potomac" 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  questions  which  were  discussed 
in  the  great  debates  which  preceded  the  final  locating  of  the 
Capital  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Bitterness  and  dis- 
sension were  even  then  rife  in  both  Houses  of  Congress. 
An  amendment  had  been  offered  to  the  funding  act,  providing 
f  pr  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts  to  the  amount  of  twenty- 
one  millions,  which  was  rejected  by  the  House.  The  North 
favored  assumption  and  the  South  opposed  it.  Just  then 
reconciliation  and  amity  were  brought  about  between  the 
combatants  precisely  as  they  often  are  in  our  own  time, 
over  a  well-laid  dinner  table,  and  a  bottle  of  rare  old  wine. 
Jefferson  was  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Hamilton  thought  that 


HAMILTON'S  ANXIETY.  41 

the  North  would  yield  and  consent  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Capital  on  the  Potomac,  if  the  South  would  agree  "to  the 
amendment  to  assume  the  State  debts.  Jefferson  and  IIam< 
ilton  met  accidentally  in  the  street,  and  the  result  of  their 
half  an  hour's  walk  "backward  and  forward  before  the 
President's  door"  was  the  next  day's  dinner  party,  and  the 
final,  irrevocable  fixing  of  the  National  Capitol  on  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac.  How  it  was  done,  as  an  illustration  of 
early  legislation,  which  has  its  perfect  parallel  in  the  legis- 
lation of  the  present  day,  can  best  bo  told  in  Jefferson's 
own  words,  quoted  from  one  of  his  letters.  He  says : 
"Hamilton  was  in  despair.  As  I  was  going  to  the  Presi- 
dent's one  day  I  met  him  in  the  street.  He  walked  me 
backward  and  forward  before  the  President's  door  for  half 
an  hour.  He  painted  pathetically  the  temper  into  which 
the  legislature  had  been  wrought ;  the  disgust  of  those  who 
were  called  the  creditor  States  ;  the  danger  of  the  secession 
of  their  members,  and  the  separation  of  the  States.  He 
observed  that  the  members  of  the  administration'ought  to 
act  in  concert ;  .  .  .  that  the  President  was  the  center 
on  which  all  administrative  questions  finally  rested ;  that  all 
of  us  should  rally  around  him  and  support  by  joint  efforts 
measures  approved  by  him,  .  .  .  that  an  appeal  from 
me  to  the  judgment  and  discretion  of  some  of  my  friends 
might  effect  a  change  in  the  vote,  and  the  machine  of  gov- 
ernment, now  suspended,  might  be  again  set  in  motion.  I 
told  him  that  I  was  really  a  stranger  to  the  whole  subject, 
not  having  yet  informed  myself  of  the  system  of  finance 
adopted  .  .  .  that  if  its  rejection  endangered  a  dissolu- 
tion of  our  Union  at  this  incipient  stage,  I  should  deem  that 
the  most  unfortunate  of  all  consequences,  to  avert  which  all 
partial  and  temporary  evils  should  be  yielded. 

"  I  proposed  to  him,  however,  to  dine  with  me  the  next 
day,  and  I  would  invite  another  friend  or  two,  bring  them 
into  conference  together,  and  I  thought  it  impossible  that 


42  SWEETENING  THE  DOSE. 

reasonable  men,  consulting  together  coolly,  could  fail  by  some 
mutual  sacrifices  of  opinion  to  form  a  compromise  which 
was  to  save  the  Union.  The  discussion  took  place.  .  .  . 
It  was  finally  agreed  to,  that  whatever  importance  had  been 
attached  to  the  rejection  of  this  proposition,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union  and  of  concord  among  the  States  was 
more  important,  and  that  therefore  it  would  be  better  that 
the  vote  of  rejection  should  be  rescinded,  to  effect  which 
some  members  should  change  their  votes.  But  it  was  ob- 
served that  this  pill  would  be  peculiarly  bitter  to  Southern 
States,  and  that  some  concomitant  measure  should  be 
adopted  to  sweeten  it  a  little  to  them.  There  had  before 
been  a  proposition  to  fix  the  seat  of  government  either  at 
Philadelphia  or  Georgetown  on  the  Potomac,  and  it  was 
thought  that  by  giving  it  to  Philadelphia  for  ten  years,  and 
to  Georgetown  permanently  afterward,  this  might,  as  an 
anodyne,  calm  in  some  degree  the  ferment  which  might  be 
excited  by  the  other  measure  alone.  So  two  of  the  Potomac 
members  (White  and  Lee),  but  White  with  a  revulsion  of 
stomach  almost  convulsive,  agreed  to  change  their  votes, 
and  Hamilton  agreed  to  carry  the  other  point  .  .  .  and 
so  the  assumption  was  passed." 

June  28, 1790,  to  carry  out  the  agreement  an  old  bill  was 
dragged  forth  and  amended  by  inserting  "on  the  Kiver 
Potomac,  at  some  place  between  the  mouths  of  the  Eastern 
Branch  and  the  Conococheague."  This  was  finally  passed, 
July  16,  1790,  and  entitled  "An  Act  establishing  the  tempo- 
rary and  permanent  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States."  The  word  "temporary"  applied  to  Philadelphia, 
whose  disappointment  in  not  becoming  the  final  Capital  was 
to  be  appeased  by  Congress  holding  their  sessions  there  till 
1800,  when,  as  a  member  expressed  it,  "they  were  to  go  to 
the  Indian  place  with  the  long  name,  on  the  Potomac." 

The  long  strife  ended,  and  the  permanent  Capital  of  the 
United  States  was  fixed  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  in 


THE  CONTROVERSY  ENDED.         .  43 

the  amendatory  proclamation  of  President  Washington, 
done  at  Georgetown  the  30th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1791,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  the  fifteenth,  which  concluded  with  these  words : 
"  I  do  accordingly  direct  the  Commissioners  named  under 
the  authority  of  the  said  first-mentioned  act  of  Congress  to 
proceed  forthwith  to  have  the  said  four  lines  run,  and  by 
proper  metes  and  bounds  defined  and  limited,  and  thereof 
to  make  due  report  under  their  hands  and  seals ;  and  the 
territory  so  to  be  located,  defined,  and  limited  shall  be  the 
whole  territory  accepted  by  the  said  act  of  Congress  as  the 
district  for  the  permanent  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States." 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON   AND   OBSTINATE   DAVY   BURNS— 

HOW  THE  "WIDOW'S  MITE"  WAS  SECURED  — HOW 

AND  BY  WHOM  THE  CITY  WAS  PLANNED. 

Making  Peace  With  Lords  of  Little  Domains  —  "  Obstinate  Mr.  Burns"  — 
A  Pugnacious  Scotchman  —  The  "  Widow's  Mite"  —  A  Graceful  Sur- 
render—  Republicans  in  Theory  but  Aristocrats  in  Practice  —  Who 
Was  Major  L'Enfant  ?—  A  Lucky  Circumstance  —  Plans  that  Were 
Ridiculed  —  Men  Who  Did  Not  "  Get  On  "  Well  Together  —  The  Man 
Who  Worried  President  Washington  —  Demolishing  Mansions  With- 
out Leave  or  License  —  An  Uncontrollable  Engineer  —  His  Summary 
Dismissal  —  Living  Without  Honor  and  Dying  Without  Fame  —  A 
Quaker  Successor  of  "Uncommon  Talent"  and  "Placid  Temper"  — 
Five  Dollars  a  Day  and  "Expenses"  —  "Too  Much" — A  Colored 
Genius  for  Mathematics  —  "  Every  Inch  a  Man  "  —  Why  the  Capitol, 
the  White  House,  and  Government  Buildings  Were  Set  Far  Apart. 


HA.T  part  of  the  district  of  ten  miles  square  fall- 
ing within  the  boundaries  of  Maryland  and 
designated  for  the  center  of  the  Federal  City, 
while  covered  with  sturdy  trees,  seamed  with 
gullies  and,  in  fact,  nearly  as  wild  as  when  it  had 
been  the  camping  ground  of  the  savage  Manahoacs, 
was  nevertheless  the  private  property  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals, one  or  two  of  them  holding  patents  dating  back  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years.  Following  the  cession  of  the 
land  by  Maryland,  therefore,  the  next  step  in  the  settlement 
of  the  government  was  to  make  peace  with  these  lords  of 
their  little  domains.  With  one  exception  they  sought  and 
welcomed  the  establishment  of  the  proposed  city,  three  of 
them  being  appointed  Commissioners  for  the  purpose. 

(44) 


AN  EARLY  OBSTRUCTIONIST.  45 

The  single  exception  was  a  pugnacious  little  Scotchman 
named  David  Burns.  He  owned  an  immense  tract  of  land 
south  of  where  the  White  House  now  stands,  extending  as 
far  as  that  which  the  Patent  Office  called,  in  the  land 
patent  of  1681  which  granted  it,  "  the  Widow's  Mite,  lyeing 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Anacostia  River,  on  the  north 
side  of  a  branch  or  inlett  in  the  said  river,  called  Tyber." 
This  "Widow's  Mite"  contained  600  acres  or  more,  and 
David  Burns  was  at  first  in  nowise  willing  to  part  with 
any  portion  of  it.  Although  it  lay  within  the  District  of 
Columbia,  ceded  by  the  act  of  Maryland  for  the  future 
Capital,  no  less  a  personage  than  the  President  of  the 
United  States  could  move  David  Burns  one  whit,  and  even 
the  President  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  bring  the  Scotch- 
man to  terms.  More  than  once  in  his  letters  he  alludes 
to  him  as  "the  obstinate  Mr.  Burns,"  and  it  is  told  that 
upon  one  occasion  when  the  President  was  dwelling  upon 
the  advantage  that  the  sale  of  his  lands  would  bring,  the 
planter,  testy  Davy,  exclaimed :  "  I  suppose  you  think 
people  here  are  going  to  take  every  grist  that  comes  from 
you  as  pure  grain,  but  what  would  you  have  ~been  if  you 
hadn't  married  the  widow  Custis  f  " 

After  many  interviews  and  arguments  even  the  patience 
of  Washington  finally  gave  out,  and  he  said  :  "  Mr.  Burns, 
I  have  been  authorized  to  select  the  location  of  the  National 
Capital.  I  have  selected  your  farm  as  a  part  of  it,  and  the 
government  will  take  it  at  all  events.  I  trust  you  will, 
under  these  circumstances,  enter  into  an  amicable  arrange- 
ment." 

Seeing  that  further  resistance  was  useless,  the  shrewd 
Scotchman  thought  that  by  a  final  graceful  surrender  he 
might  secure  more  favorable  conditions ;  thus,  when  the 
President  once  more  asked :  "  On  what  terms  will  you 
surrender  your  plantation?"  Davy  humbly  replied  :  "Any 
that  your  Excellency  may  choose  to  name."  The  deed  con- 


46  THE  LAND  PURCHASED. 

0 

veying  the  land  of  David  Burns  to  the  Commissioners  in 
trust  is  the  first  on  record  in  the  city  of  Washington.  This 
sale  secured  to  him  and  to  his  descendants  an  immense  for- 
tune. The  deed  provided  that  the  streets  of  the  new  city 
should  be  so  laid  out  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  cottage 
where  David  Burns  lived  in  the  most  humble  manner,  with 
his  daughter  who  was  to  become  one  of  the  richest  heiresses 
of  Washington.  The  other  original  owners  of  the  land  on 
which  the  city  of  Washington  was  built  cheerfully  accepted 
the  proposed  terms,  and  on  the  31st  of  May  Washing- 
ton wrote  to  Jefferson  from  Mount  Yernon,  announcing 
that  the  owners  had  conveyed  all  their  interest  to  the 
United  States  on  consideration  that  when  the  whole  should 
be  surveyed  and  laid  off  as  a  city  the  original  proprietors 
should  retain  every  other  lot.  The  remaining  lots  were  to 
be  sold  by  the  government  from  time  to  time  and  the 
proceeds  applied  towards  the  improvement  of  the  place. 
The  land  comprised  within  this  agreement  contained  over 
Y,100  acres. 

The  founders  of  the  Capital  were  all  very  republican  in 
theory,  and  all  very  aristocratic  in  practice.  In  speech  they 
proposed  to  build  a  sort  of  Spartan  capital,  fit  for  a  Spartan 
republic ;  but  in  fact,  they  proceeded  to  build  one  modeled 
after  the. most  magnificent  cities  of  Europe.  European  by 
descent  and  education,  many  of  them  allied  to  the  oldest 
and  proudest  families  of  the  Old  World,  every  idea  of  cul- 
ture, of  art  and  magnificence  had  come  to  them  as  part 
of  their  European  inheritance,  and  we  see  its  result  in  every- 
thing that  they  did  or  proposed  to  do  for  the  new  Capital 
which  they  so  zealously  began  to  build  in  the  woods. 

The  art-connoisseur  of  the  day  was  Jefferson.  He  knew 
Europe  not  only  by  family  tradition  but  from  travel  and 
observation.  Next  to  Washington  he  took  the  deepest  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  projected  Capital.  Of  this  interest  we 
find  continual  proof  in  his  letters,  also  of  the  fact  that  his 


THE   MAN  WHO   PLANNED   THE  CITY.  47 

taste  had  much  to  with  the  plan  and  architecture  of  the 
coming  city.  In  a  letter  to  Washington  dated  Philadelphia, 
April  10,  1791,  he  wrote :  "  I  received  last  night  from 
Major  L' Enfant  a  request  to  furnish  any  plans  of  towns 
I  could  for  examination.  I  accordingly  send  him  by  this 
post,  plans  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  etc.,*  which  I  pro- 
cured while  in  those  towns  respectively.  They  are  none  of 
them,  however,  comparable  to  the  old  Babylon  revived  in 
Philadelphia  and  exemplified."  Evidently  it  did  not  occur 
to  these  two  fathers  of  their  country  that  a  mercurial 
Frenchman  would  never  attempt  to  satisfy  his  soul  with 
acute  angles  of  old  Babylon  revived  through  the  arid  and 
level  lengths  of  Philadelphia. 

The  man  who  planned  the  Capital  of  the  United  States, 
not  for  the  present  but  for  all  time,  was  Pierre  Charles 
L'Enfant,  born  in  France  in  1T55.  He  was  a  lieutenant 
in  the  French  provincial  forces,  and  with  others  of  his 
countrymen  was  early  drawn  to  these  shores  by  the  mag- 
netism of  a  new  people,  and  the  promise  of  a  new  land.  He 
offered  his  services  to  the  revolutionary  army  as  an  en- 
gineer in  1777,  and  was  appointed  captain  of  engineers 
February  18,  1778.  After  being  wounded  at  the  siege  of 
Savannah,  he  was  promoted  to  major  of  engineers,  and 
served  near  the  person  of  "Washington.  Probably  at  that 
time  there  was  no  man  in  America  who  possessed  so  much 
genius  and  art-culture  in  the  same  direction  as  Major 
L'Enfant.  In  a  new  land,  where  nearly  every  artisan  had 
to  be  imported  from  foreign  shores,  the  chief  designer  and 
architect  surely  would  have  to  be.  It  seemed  a  fortunate 
circumstance  to  find  on  the  spot  a  competent  engineer  for 
the  prospective  Capital. 

The  first  public  communication  extant  concerning  the 


*Other  plans  were  those  of  Carlsruhe,  Amsterdam,  Strassburg,  Paris, 
Orleans,  Bordeaux,  Lyons,  Montpelier,  Marseilles,  Turin,  and  Milan 


48  THE  CITY  NAMED. 

laying  out  of  the  city  is  from  the  pen  of  General  Wash- 
ington, dated  March  11,  1791.  In  a  letter  dated  April  30, 
1791,  he  first  called  it  the  "  Federal  City."  Four  months 
later,  without  his  knowledge,  it  received  its  present  name  in 
a  letter  from  the  first  Commissioners,  Messrs.  Johnson, 
Stuart,  and  Carroll,  which  bears  the  date  of  Georgetown, 
September  9,  1791,  to  Major  L'Enfant,  which  informs  that 
gentleman  that  they  have  agreed  that  the  federal  district 
shall  be  called  The  Territory  of  Columbia,  and  the  federal 
city  The  City  of  Washington,  directing  him  to  entitle  his 
map  accordingly. 

In  March,  1791,  we  find  Jefferson  addressing  Major 
L'Enfant  in  these  words:  "You  are  desired  to  proceed  to 
Georgetown,  where  you  will  find  Mr.  Ellicott  employed  in 
making  a  survey  and  map  of  the  federal  territory.  The 
special  object  of  asking  your  aid  is  to  have  the  drawings 
of  the  particular  grounds  most  likely  to  be  approved  for  the 
site  of  the  federal  grounds  and  buildings." 

The  French  genius  "  proceeded,"  and  behold  the  result, 
the  city  of  "magnificent  distances,"  and  from  the  begin- 
ning, of  magnificent  intentions,  —  intentions  which  for  years 
called  forth  only  ridicule,  because  in  the  slow  mills  of  time 
their  fulfillment  was  so  long  delayed.  As  Thomas  Jefferson 
wanted  the  chessboard  squares  and  angles  of  Philadelphia, 
L'Enfant  used  them  for  the  base  of  the  new  city,  but  his 
genius  avenged  itself  for  this  outrage  on  its  taste  by  trans- 
versing  them  with  sixteen  magnificent  avenues,  which  from 
that  day  to  this  have  proved  the  confusion  and  the  glory  of 
the  city. 

The  avenues  Were  named  after  the  states.  The  great 
central  avenue  running  a  length  of  over  four  miles  from  the 
Anacostia  to  Kock  Creek  was  named  after  Pennsylvania. 
The  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was  dignified  by  a 
parallel  avenue  of  equal  length  on  the  north,  and  Virginia 
in  like  manner  on  the  south.  The  avenues  crossing  the 


AN  INTRACTABLE   GENIUS.  49 

great  central  thoroughfare  were  named  after  New  York, 
New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  the  Carolinas  and 
Georgia,  while  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  Vermont 
were  given  shorter  and  non-intersecting  avenues  in  the 
rather  unpromising  'northwest,  though,  contrary  to  the  gen- 
eral belief,  they  could  not  have  been  regarded  as  possibili- 
ties quite  so  remote  as  those  avenues  east  of  the  Capitol 
which  later  received  the  names  of  the  new  states  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  the  former  running  south  from  Pennsyl- 
vania avenue  and  the  latter  north.  At  any  rate  the 
small  New  England  states  ultimately  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  their  avenues  become  the  finest  residential  streets  of 

o 

the  city. 

Two  months  after  the  publication  of  his  magnificent  de- 
signs for  posterity,  Major  L'Enfant  was  dismissed  from  his 
exalted  place.  He  was  a  Frenchman  and  a  genius.  The 
patrons  of  the  new  Capital  were  not  geniuses,  and  not 
Frenchmen,  reasons  sufficient  why  they  should  not  and  did 
not  "  get  on "  long  in  peace  together.  Without  doubt  the 
Commissioners  were  provincial,  and  limited  in  their  ideas  of 
art  and  of  expenditure ;  with  their  colonial  experience  they 
could  scarcely  be  otherwise;  while  L'Enfant  was  metro- 
politan, splendid,  and  willful,  in  his  ways  as  well  as  in  his 
designs.  Hampered,  held  back,  he  yet  "  builded  better  than 
he  knew,"  —  builded  for  posterity.  The  executor  and  the 
designer  seldom  counterpart  each  other. 

L'Enfant  worried  Washington,  as  a  letter  from  the  latter 
written  in  the  autumn  of  1791,  plainly  shows.  He  says: 
"  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  men  who  possess  talents 
which  fit  them  for  peculiar  purposes  should  almost  in- 
variably be  under  the  influence  of  an  untoward  disposition. 
...  I  have  thought  that  for  such  employment  as 
he  is  now  engaged  in  for  prosecuting  public  works  and 
carrying  them  into  effect,  Major  L'Enfant  was  better 
qualified  than  anyone  who  has  come  within  my  knowl- 


00  THE  RETIREMENT  OF  I/ENFANT. 

edge  in  this  country,  or  indeed  in  any  other.  I  had  no 
doubt  at  the  same  time  that  this  was  the  light  in  which 
he  considered  himself."  At  least,  L' Enfant  was  so  fond 
of  his  new  "plan"  that  he  would  not  give  it  up  to  the 
Commissioners  to  be  used  as  an  inducement  for  buying 
city  lots,  even  at  the  command  of  the  President,  giving 
as  a  reason  that  if  it  was  open  to  buyers,  speculators 
would  build  up  his  beloved  avenues  (which  he  intended,  in 
time,  should  outrival  Versailles)  with  squatter's  huts  —  just 
as  they  afterwards  did.  Then  Duddington  House,  the 
abode  of  Daniel  Carroll,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  was  in 
the  way  of  one  of  his  triumphal  avenues,  and  he  ordered  it 
torn  down  without  leave  or  license,  to  the  rage  of  its  owner 
and  the  indignation  of  the  Commissioners.  Duddington 
House  was  rebuilt  by  order  of  the  government  in  another 
place.  Nevertheless  its  first  demolition  was  held  as  one  of 
the  sins  of  the  uncontrollable  L'Enfant,  who  was  summarily 
discharged  March  6,  1792. 

His  dismissal  was  thus  announced  by  Jefferson  in  a  letter 
to  one  of  the  Commissioners :  "  It  having  been  found  im- 
practicable to  employ  Major  L'Enfant  about  the  Federal 
City  in  that  degree  of  subordination  which  was  lawful  and 
proper,  he  has  been  notified  that  his  services  are  at  an  end. 
It  is  now  proper  that  he  should  receive  the  reward  of  his 
past  services,  and  the  wish  that  he  should  have  no  just 
cause  of  discontent  suggests  that  it  should  be  liberal.  The 
President  thinks  of  $2,500,  or  $3,000,  but  leaves  the  de- 
termination to  you."  Jefferson  wrote  in  the  same  letter: 
"  The  enemies  of  the  enterprise  will  take  the  advantage  of 
the  retirement  of  L'Enfant  to  trumpet  the  whole  as  an 
abortion."  But  L'Enfant  lived  and  died  within  sight  of  the 
dawning  city  of  his  love  which  he  had  himself  created  — 
and  never  wrought  it  or  its  projectors  any  harm  through 
all  the  days  of  his  life.  He  was  loyal  to  his  adopted 
government,  but  to  his  last  breath  clung  to  every  atom  of 


ELLICOTT  AND   HIS  ASSISTANT.  51 

his  personal  claim  upon  it,  as  pugnaciously  as  be  did  to  bis 
maps  wben  commanded  to  give  tbem  up.  He  lived  witbout 
honor,  and  died  witbout  fame.  Time  bas  vindicated  one 
and  will  perpetuate  tbe  other  in  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
capitals  of  tbe  earth. 

He  lived  for  many  years  on  the  Digges  farm,  situated 
about  eight  miles  from  Washington,  and  was  buried  in  tbe 
family  burial-ground  in  the  garden.  When  tbe  Digges 
family  were  disinterred,  his  dust  was  left  nearly  alone. 
There  it  lies  to-day,  and  the  perpetually  growing  splendor 
of  tbe  ruling  city  which  he  planned  is  his  only  monument. 

Major  L'Enfant  was  succeeded  by  Andrew  Ellicott,  a 
practical  engineer,  born  in  Pennsylvania.  Ellicott  was 
called  a  man  of  "uncommon  talent"  and  "placid  temper." 
Neither  saved  him  from  conflicts  with  the  Commissioners. 
A  Quaker,  he  yet  commanded  a  battalion  of  militia  in  the 
Revolution,  and  "was  thirty-seven  years  of  age  wben  he 
rode  out  with  Washington  to  survey  the  embryo  city."  He 
finished  (with  certain  modifications)  the  work  which 
L'Enfant  began.  For  this  he  received  tbe  stupendous  sum 
of  $5.00  per  day,  which,  with  "expenses,"  Jefferson  thought 
to  be  altogether  too  much.  In  his  letter  to  the  Commission- 
ers dismissing  L'Enfant,  he  says :  "  Ellicott  is  to  go  on  to 
finish  laying  off  the  plan  on  the  ground,  and  surveying  and 
plotting  the  district.  I  have  remonstrated  with  him  on  tbe 
excess  of  five  dollars  a  day  and  his  expenses,  and  he  bas 
proposed  striking  off  tbe  latter." 

Ellicott's  most  remarkable  assistant  was  Benjamin 
Bancker,  a  negro,  tbe  first  of  bis  race  to  distinguish  himself 
in  tbe  new  Republic.  He  was  born  with  a  genius  for 
mathematics  and  the  exact  sciences,  and  at  an  early  age  was 
the  author  of  an  Almanac  which  attracted  the  attention  and 
commanded  the  praise  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  When  he 
came  to  "  run  the  lines  "  of  the  future  Capital,  he  was  sixty 
years  of  age.  The  color-line  could  not  have  been  drawn  very 


52          COMMENT,  AND  AN  EXPLANATION. 

tensely  at  that  time,  for  the  Commissioners  invited  him  to 
an  official  seat  with  themselves,  an  honor  which  he  de. 
clined.  The  picture  given  us  of  him  is  that  of  a  sable 
Franklin,  large,  noble,  and  venerable,  with  a  dusky  face, 
white  hair,  and  Quaker  coat  and  hat. 

Nothing  calls  forth  more  comment  from  strangers  than 
the  distance  between  the  Capitol  and  many  of  the  Executive 
Departments.    It  is  still  a  chronic  and  fashionable  complaint 
to  decry  the  time  and  distance  it  takes  to  get  anywhere. 
We  are  constantly  hearing  exclamations  of  what  a  beautiful 
city  Washington  would  be  with  the  Capitol  for  the  center 
of  a  square  formed  by  a  chain  of  magnificent  public  build- 
ings.    John  Adams  wanted  the  Departments  around   the 
Capitol.     George  Washington,  but  a  short  time  before  his 
death,  gave  in  a  letter  the  reasons  for  their  present  position. 
He  says:     "Where  or  how  the  houses  for  the  President 
and  the  public  offices  may  be  fixed  is  to  me,  as  an  individual, 
a  matter  of  moonshine.     But  the  reverse  of  the  President's 
motive   for  placing  the   latter  near   the   Capitol  was  my 
motive  for  fixing  them  by  the  former.     The  daily  inter- 
course which  the  secretaries  of  departments  must  have  with 
the  President  would  render  a  distant  situation  extremely 
inconvenient  to  them,  and  not  much  less  so  would  one  be 
close  to  the  Capitol ;  for  it  was  the  universal  complaint  of 
them  all,  that  while  the  Legislature  was  in  session,  they  could 
do  little  or  no  business,  so  much  were  they  interrupted  by  the 
individual  visits  of  members  in  office  hours,  and  by  calls  for 
paper.     Many  of  them  have  disclosed  to  me  that  they  have 
been  obliged  often  to  go  home  and  deny  themselves  in  order 
to  transact  the  current  business."     The  denizen  of  the  pres- 
ent time,  who  knows  the  Secretaries'  dread  of -the  average 
besieging  Congressman,  will  smile  to  find  that  the  dread 
was  as  potent  in  the  era  of  George  Washington  as  it  is 
to-day.     A  more  conclusive  reason  could  not  be  given  why 
Capitol  and  Departments  should  be  a  mile  or  more  apart. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BIRTH  OF  THE  NATION'S  CAPITOL  — GRAPHIC  PICTURES  OF 
EARLY  DAYS  — SACKED  BY  THE  BRITISH  — WASHING- 
TON DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR  — THEN  AND  NOW. 

Raising  the  Money  to  Build  the  Capitol  —  Government  Lottery  Schemes  — 
Hunting  for  the  Capital  —  "  In  the  Center  of  the  City"  —  Queer  Sen- 
sations—Dismal Scenes  —  Sacked  by  the  British  — "The  Royal 
Pirate "— Flight  of  the  President— Burning  of  the  White  House  — 
Mrs.  Madison  Saves  the  Historic  Painting  of  General  Washington  — 
Paul  Jennings'  Account  of  the  Retreat  —  Invaded  by  Torch  Bearers 
and  Plunderers  —  A  Memorable  Storm — Midnight  Silent  Retreat  of 
the  British — Disgraceful  Conduct  of  "The  Royal  Pirate"  —  "Light 
up!"  —  Setting  Fire  to  the  Capitol — Dickens'  Sarcastic  Description 
of  the  Capital  —  "Such  as  It  Is,  It  Is  Likely  to  Remain" — When 
the  Civil  War  Opened  —  Dreary,  Desolate,  and  Dirty  —  The  Capital 
During  the  War  —  Days  of  Anguish  and  Bloodshed. 


•N  going  through  "Washington's  correspondence 
one  finds  that  there  is  scarcely  anything  in  the 
past,  present,  or  future  of  its  Capital,  for  which 
the  Father  of  his  Country  has  not  left  on  record 
a  wise,  far-reaching  reason.  His  letters  are  full  of 
allusions  to  the  annoyance  and  difficulty  attending 
the  raising  of  sufficient  money  to  make  the  Capitol  and 
other  public  buildings  tenantable  by  the  time  specified, 
1800.  He  seemed  to  regard  the  prompt  completion  of  the 
Capitol  as  an  event  identical  with  the  perpetual  establish- 
ment of  the  government  at  Washington.  Virginia  had 
made  a  donation  of  $120,000,  and  Maryland  one  of  $72,000; 
these  were  now  exhausted.  After  various  efforts  to  raise 
money  by  the  forced  sales  of  public  lots,  and  after  abortive 

(53) 


54  FEDERAL  LOTTERIES. 

attempts  to  borrow  money,  at  home  and  abroad,  on  the 
credit  of  these  lots,  amidst  general  embarrassments,  while 
Congress  withheld  any  aid  whatever,  the  urgency  appeared 
to  the  President  so  great  as  to  induce  him  to  make  a  per- 
sonal application  to  the  State  of  Maryland  for  a  loan  of 
$100,000,  which  was  successful.  The  deplorable  condition 
of  the  government  credit  at  that  time  is  exhibited  in  the 
fact  that  the  State  called  upon  the  personal  credit  of  the 
Commissioners  as  an  additional  guarantee  for  the  re-pay- 
ment of  the  amount. 

When  in  1792  financial  distress  was  very  acute,  the 
government  asked  Samuel  Blodget  of  Philadelphia  to  pro- 
mote the  city's  growth  by  a  lottery  scheme,  the  immediate 
necessity  being  a  hotel.  He  at  once  instituted  what  was 
called  "  Federal  Lottery  No.  I "  for  $50,000,  the  tickets  be- 
ing seven  dollars  each,  with  1,679  prizes,  the  first  being 
the  hotel  itself.  The  drawing  took  place  in  1793,  after  the 
people  of  Georgetown  had  bought  up  a  large  remnant  of 
tickets  to  save  the  scheme  from  failure.  Federal  Lottery 
No.  II  was  instituted  to  build  a  row  of  houses  west  of  the 
White  House,  a  block  which  became  known  as  "  The  Six 
Houses,"  and  though  very  unpretentious  they  were  long 
conspicuous  in  a  city  which  consisted  largely  of  streets. 
The  record  of  Federal  Lottery  No.  I,  a  quaint  book  whose 
leaves  are  brown  with  age,  is  now  one  of  the  relics  treas- 
ured in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Not  only  was  the  growth  of  the  public  buildings  hin- 
dered through  lack  of  money,  but  also  through  the  "jeal- 
ousies and  bickerings  "  of  those  who  should  have  helped  to 
build  them.  Human  nature,  in  the  aggregate,  was  just  as 
inharmonious  and  hard  to  manage  then  as  now.  The  Com- 
missioners did  not  always  agree.  Artisans,  imported  from 
foreign  lands,  of  themselves  made  an  element  of  discord, 
one  which  Washington  dreaded  and  deprecated.  He  led. 
with  a  patience  and  wisdom  undreamed  of  and  unappreci- 


IN  SIGHT  OF  THE  PROMISED  LAND.  55 

ated  in  this  generation,  the  straggling  and  discordant  forces 
of  the  Republic  from  oppression  to  freedom,  from  chaos  to 
achievement  —  he  came  in  sight  of  the  promised  land  of 
fruition  and  prosperity,  but  he  did  not  enter  it,  this  Father 
and  Prophet  of  the  people!  George  Washington  died  in 
December,  1799.  The  City  of  Washington  was  officially 
occupied  in  June,  1800. 

The  only  adequate  impression  of  what  the  Capital  was 
at  the  time  of  its  first  occupancy  we  must  receive  from 
those  who  beheld  it  with  living  eyes.  Fortunately  several 
have  left  graphic  pictures  of  the  appearance  which  the  city 
presented  at  that  time.  Probably  the  earliest  account  we 
have  was  that  written  in  his  diary  by  Thomas  Twining,  an 
energetic  Englishman  who  visited  this  country  in  1795  and 
was  entertained  by  Washington.  He  had  arrived  at  George- 
town from  Baltimore  one  April  day  and  on  the  next  set  out 
on  horseback  to  see  the  new  Capital,  elaborate  plans  of 
which  he  had  seen  at  Baltimore  and  which  he  had  supposed 
must  be  truly  magnificent.  The  following  is  taken  from 
his  diary : 

"Having  crossed  an  extensive  tract  of  level  country 
somewhat  resembling  an  English  heath,  I  entered  a  large 
wood  through  which  a  very  imperfect  road  had  been  made, 
principally  by  removing  the  trees,  or  rather  the  upper  parts 
of  them,  in  the  usual  manner.  After  some  time  this  indis- 
tinct way  assumed  more  the  appearance  of  a  regular  avenue, 
the  trees  having  been  cut  down  in  a  straight  line.  Although 
no  habitation  of  any  kind  was  visible,  I  had  no  doubt  but  I 
was  now  riding  along  one  of  the  streets  of  the  metropolitan 
city.  I  continued  in  this  spacious  avenue  for  half  a  mile, 
and  then  came  out  upon  a  large  spot,  cleared  of  wood,  in 
the  center  of  which  I  saw  two  buildings  on  an  extensive 
scale  and  some  men  at  work  on  one  of  them.  .  .  .  Ad- 
vancing and  speaking  to  these  workmen  they  informed  me 
that  I  was  now  in  the  center  of  the  city  and  that  the  build- 


56  PEN  PICTURES  OF  THE  CAPITAL. 

ing  before  me  was  the  Capitol,  and  the  other  destined  to  be 
a  tavern.  .  .  .  Looking  from  where  I  now  stood  I  saw 
on  every  side  a  thick  wood  pierced  with  avenues  in  a  more 
or  less  perfect  state." 

President  John  Adams  took  possession  of  the  unfinished 
Executive  Mansion  in  November,  1800.  During  the  month, 
Mrs.  Adams  wrote  to  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Smith,  as  follows : 
"  I  arrived  here  on  Sunday  last,  a*id  without  meeting  with 
any  accident  worth  noticing,  except  losing  ourselves  when 
we  left  Baltimore,  and  going  eight  or  nine  miles  on  the 
Frederic  road,  by  which  means  we  were  obliged  to  go  the 
other  eight  through  the  woods,  where  we  wandered  for  two 
hours  without  finding  guide  or  path  .  .  .  but  woods  are 
all  you  see  from  Baltimore  till  you  reach  the  city,  which  is 
only  so  in  name.  Here  and  there  is  a  small  cot,  without  a 
glass  window,  interspersed  amongst  the  forests,  through 
which  you  travel  miles  without  seeing  any  human  being. 
In  the  city  there  are  buildings  enough,  if  they  were  com 
pact  and  finished,  to  accommodate  Congress  and  those  at- 
tached to  it;  but  as  they  are,  and  scattered  as  they  are,  I 
see  no  great  comfort  for  them." 

Hon.  John  Cotton  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  a  distinguished 
member  of  Congress,  of  the  Federal  school  of  politics,  also 
gives  his  picture  of  Washington  in  1800:  "  Our  approach 
to  the  city  was  accompanied  with  sensations  not  easily  de- 
scribed. One  wing  of  the  Capitol  only  had  been  erected, 
which,  with  the  President's  house,  a  mile  distant  from  it, 
both  constructed  with  white  sandstone,  were  shining  objects 
in  dismal  contrast  with  the  scene  around  them.  Instead  of 
recognizing  the  avenues  and  streets  portrayed  on  the  plan 
of  the  city,  not  ono  was  visible,  unless  we  except  a  road, 
with  two  buildings  on  each  side  of  it,  called  the  New  Jersey 
Avenue.  The  Pennsylvania,  leading,  as  laid  down  on  paper, 
from  the  Capitol  to  the  presidential  mansion,  was  then 
nearly  the  whole  distance  a  deep  morass,  covered  with  alder 


A  FORLORN   "NEW   SETTLEMENT".  57 

bushes  which  were  cut  through  the  width  of  the  intended 
avenue  during  the  then  ensuing  winter.  Between  the 
President's  house  and  Georgetown  a  block  of  houses  had 
been  erected,  which  then  bore,  and  may  still  bear,  the  name 
of  the  six  buildings.  There  were  also  other  blocks,  consist- 
ing of  two  or  three  dwelling  houses,  in  different  directions, 
and  now  and  then  an  insulated  wooden  habitation,  the  in- 
tervening spaces,  and  indeed  the  surface  of  the  city  gener- 
ally, being  covered  with  shrub-oak  bushes  on  the  higher 
grounds,  and  on  the  marshy  soil  either  trees  or  some  sort  of 
shrubbery.  The  roads  in  every  direction  were  muddy  and 
unimproved.  A  sidewalk  was  attempted  in  one  instance  by 
a  covering  formed  of  the  chips  of  the  stones  which  had 
been  hewn  for  the  Capitol.  It  extended  but  a  little  way 
and  was  of  little  value,  for  in  dry  weather  the  sharp  frag- 
ments cu  our  shoes,  and  in  wet  weather  covered  them  with 
white  mortar;  in  short,  it  was  a  'new  settlement.'  The 
houses,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  had  been  very  recently 
erected,  and  the  operation  greatly  hurried  in  view  of  the 
approaching  transfer  of  the  national  government.  A  laud- 
able desire  was  manifested  by  what  few  citizens  and  resi- 
dents there  were,  to  render  our  condition  as  pleasant  as 
circumstances  would  permit." 

The  visitor  who  notes  that  the  name  of  Thomas  Moore 
does  not  appear  among  the  poets  in  the  decorations  of  the 
beautiful  Library  of  Congress  wTill  be  told  of  the  facetious 
lines  he  wrote  when  he  visited  the  city  soon  after  its  occupa- 
tion by  the  government : 

"This  famed  metropolis,  where  fancy  sees, 
Squares  in  morasses,  obelisks  in  trees  ; 
Which  traveling  fools  and  gazetteers  adorn 
With  shrines  unbuilt  and  heroes  yet  unborn." 

Washington  was  incorporated  as  a  city  by  act  of  Con- 
gress, passed  May  3,  1802.  The  city,  planned  solely  as  the 
National  Capital,  was  laid  out  on  a  scale  so  grand  and  ex- 


58  THE  SACKING  OF  THE  CITY. 

tensive  that  scanty  municipal  funds  alone  would  never  have 
been  sufficient  for  its  proper  improvement.  From  the  be- 
ginning it  was  the  ward  of  Congress.  Its  magnificent  ave- 
nues, squares,  and  public  buildings,  could  receive  due  deco- 
ration from  no  fund  more  scanty  than  a  national  appropria- 
tion. For  a  time,  its  founders  and  patrons  zealously  pursued 
plans  for  its  improvement.  But  failing  funds,  a  weak  mu- 
nicipality, and  indifferent  Congresses,  did  their  work,  and 
for  many  years  "the  city  of  magnificent  distances"  had 
little  but  those  distances  of  which  to  boast. 

The  National  Capital  was  sacked  by  the  British  under 
Admiral  Cockburn,  known  as  "  The  Eoyal  Pirate,"  and 
Major-General  Ross,  an  audacious  Irishman,  on  August  24, 
1814.  The  United  States  had  been  at  war  with  England 
for  two  years,  and  Admiral  Cockburn  had  been  cruising 
about  Chesapeake  Bay  with  an  English  fleet  for  a  year, 
robbing  villages  and  farmhouses  and  devastating  the  whole 
Chesapeake  coast.  Although  President  Madison  had  early 
received  warning  that  British  troops  were  expected  to 
co-operate  with  Cockburn  along  the  Potomac,  he  was  not 
aroused  to  the  danger  that  menaced  the  Capital. 

On  July  1,  1814,  the  President  received  word  that  an 
English  fleet  with  a  large  force  of  seasoned  Peninsula  vet- 
erans on  board  had  reached  Bermuda  and  was  about  to  sail 
for  the  Potomac.  The  States  were  called  upon  for  93,500 
militia.  About  5,000  reported,  mostly  raw  recruits.  An 
unseemly  squabble  over  the  appointment  of  a  general  to.  com- 
mand this  army  followed.  With  no  cavalry,  no  vessels,  no 
mounted  guns,  and  only  a  few  thousand  undisciplined  troops, 
the  people  of  Washington,  who  then  numbered  about  6,000, 
heard  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy  August  18.  They  were 
panic-stricken.  Many  left  the  city,  and  the  streets  were 
filled  with  wagons  loaded  with  household  effects. 

The  British  land  force,  consisting  of  4,500  disciplined 
troops  and  three  cannon,  disembarked  at  Benedict,  August 


THE   FLIGHT   OF  PRESIDENT  MADISON.  59 

21,  and  marching  rapidly  across  fifty  miles  of  country 
appeared  on  the  river  bank  opposite  Bladensburg,  at  noon, 
August  24,  and  prepared  to  cross  the  bridge.  This  was  but 
six  miles  from  the  Capital.  President  Madison  and  his  Cab- 
inet rode  out  on  horseback  to  see  the  struggle.  The  little 
American  army  was  formed  in  three  lines,  too  far  apart  to 
support  each  other.  There  were  actually  three  command- 
ing officers,  —  General  Winder,  Secretary  of  State  Monroe, 
and  Secretary  of  War  Armstrong.  The  Secretaries  repeat- 
edly changed  the  order  of  battle,  without  the  knowledge  of 
General  Winder,  and  so  confused  the  troops  that  when 
Winder  gave  a  command  regimental  officers  held  consulta- 
tions as  to  whether  they  should  obey  him  or  the  cabinet 
officials.  For  three  hours,  the  battle  raged  furiously,  then 
the  militia  gave  way  before  a  heavy  column,  and  the 
American  forces  retreated  to  Maryland.  The  President 
and  his  Cabinet  scattered  and  fled,  the  President  continuing 
his  flight  into  Virginia,  where  he  hid  in  a  hovel  for  two 
days  before  he  ventured  to  return  to  the  Capital.  Dolly 
Madison,  the  famous  mistress  of  the  White  House,  was  also 
forced  to  flee,  but  before  she  went  she  removed  from  its 
frame  the  historic  picture  of  General  Washington  in  the 
White  House,  and  also  saved  many  Cabinet  papers  and  rec- 
ords, sacrificing  her  own  personal  effects  to  do  so. 

The  British  forces  halted  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
city,  but  finding  no  officials  to  negotiate  a  pecuniary  ransom 
for  the  property  at  their  mercy,  Ross,  with  his  far  less 
scrupulous  companion  in  iniquity  —  Cock  burn — with  a 
corps  of  torch  bearers  and  plunderers  rode  into  the  Capital 
at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening.  They  lost  no  time  in  burning 
and  destroying  everything  connected  with  the  government. 
The  blazing  houses,  ships,  and  stores  brilliantly  illumined 
the  sky,  while  the  report  of  exploding  magazines,  and  the 
crashing  of  falling  roofs,  gave  evidence  of  the  wanton 
destruction  that  went  steadily  on.  A  detachment  was  sent 


60  UNWELCOME  GUESTS. 

to  destroy  the  President's  house,  and  it  is  related  by  Gleig, 
an  English  writer,  that  they  "found  a  bountiful  dinner 
spread  for  forty  guests.  This  they  concluded  was  for  the 
American  officers  who  were  expected  to  return  victorious 
from  the  field  of  Bladensburg."  Gleig  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  British  soldiers  plundered  the  house,  taking  a  great  deal 
of  President  Madison's  private  property,  and  then  sat  down 
to  the  feast.  "Having  partaken  freely  of  wine,  they  fin- 
ished by  setting  fire  to  the  house  which  had  so  liberally 
entertained  them."  This  story,  often  quoted,  has,  at  least 
so  far  as  relates  to  the  "  feast,"  been  pronounced  absolutely 
false.  But  Mr.  Madison's  faithful  slave,  Paul  Jennings,  a 
man  of  unusual  intelligence  and  education,  who  afterwards 
bought  his  freedom  from  Mrs.  Madison  and  lived  for  many 
years  a  respected  citizen  of  Washington,  has  left  on  record 
his  observations  of  what  happened. 

He  says :  "  On  that  very  morning  Gen.  Armstrong 
assured  Mrs.  Madison  there  was  no  danger.  The  President, 
with  Gen.  Armstrong,  Gen.  Winder,  Col.  Monroe,  et  al., 
rode  out  on  horseback  to  Bladensburg  to  see  how  things 
looked.  Mrs.  Madison  ordered  dinner  to  be  ready  at  three 
o'clock,  as  usual.  I  set  the  table  myself,  and  brought  up 
the  ale,  cider,  and  wine  and  placed  them  in  the  coolers,  as 
all  the  Cabinet  and  several  military  gentlemen  and  strangers 
were  expected.  While  waiting,  at  just  about  three,  as 
Sukey,  the  house-servant,  was  lolling  out  of  a  chamber 
window,  James  Smith,  a  colored  man  who  had  accompanied 
Mr.  Madison  to  Bladensburg,  galloped  up  to  the  house,  wav- 
ing his  hat,  and  cried  out :  <  Clear  out,  clear  out !  General 
Armstrong  has  ordered  a  retreat.' 

"  AJ1  then  was  confusion.  Mrs.  Madison  ordered  her 
carriage,  and  passing  through  the  dining-room  caught  up 
what  she  could  crowd  into  her  old-fashioned  reticule,  and 
then  jumped  into  the  chariot  with  her  servant  girl,  Sukey, 
and  Daniel  Carrol,  who  took  charge  of  them.  Jo.  Bolin 


MRS.    MADISON'S  EXPERIENCES.  61 

drove  them  over  to  Georgetown  heights.  The  British  were 
expected  in  a  few  minutes.  Mr.  Cutts,  her  brother-in-law, 
sent  me  to  a  stable  on  14th  St.  for  his  carriage.  People 
were  running  in  every  direction.  John  Freeman  (the  col- 
ored butler)  drove  off  in  the  coachee  with  his  wife,  child, 
and  servant;  also  a  feather-bed  lashed  on  behind  the 
coachee,  which  was  all  the  furniture  saved. 

"  Mrs.  Madison  slept  that  night  at  Mrs.  Love's,  two  or 
three  miles  over  the  river.  After  leaving  that  place,  she 
called  in  at  a  house  and  went  upstairs.  The  lady  of  the 
house,  learning  who  she  was,  became  furious,  and  went  to 
the  stairs  and  screamed  out :  '  Mrs.  Madison,  if  that's  you, 
come  down  and  go  out  1  Your  husband  has  got  mine  out 

fighting,  and,  d you,  you  sha'n't  stay  in  my  house.  So 

get  out.'  Mrs.  Madison  complied,  and  went  to  Mrs. 
Minor's,  a  few  miles  further  on." 

During  the  night  a  terrible  storm  came  up,  and  the  rain 
extinguished  the  conflagration.  General  Winder  meantime 
had  rallied  his  men,  and  they  were  beginning  to  appear  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  city.  The  British,  scattered  by  the  hur- 
ricane, and  fearing  retribution,  stole  away  by  night  under 
cover  of  the  tempest,  in  a  panic  of  causeless  fear.  They  left 
their  dead  unburied,  and  their  wounded  to  the  care  of  the 
Americans.  It  was  a  stealthy  but  precipitate  retreat.  Says 
a  British  writer :  "  The  troops  stole  to  the  rear  by  twos  and 
threes,  and  when  far  enough  removed  to  avoid  observation, 
took  their  places  in  silence  and  began  the  march.  No  man 
spoke.  Steps  were  planted  lightly  and  we  cleared  the  town 
without  exciting  observation."  They  reached  Benedict  on 
August  29,  and  embarked  on  the  30th  with  their  booty.  " 

During  their  occupation  of  the  city  a  detachment  of  the 
British  force  marched  to  the  Capitol.  Only  two  wings  of 
the  building  were  finished,  and  these  were  connected  by  a 
wooden  passage-way,  erected  where  the  Rotunda  now  stands. 
British  officers  entered  the  House  of  Representatives,  where 


62  THE  TORCH  IN  THE  CAPITOL. 

Admiral  Cockburn,  seating  himself  in  the  speaker's  chair, 
called  the  assemblage  to  order  and  held  a  mock  session  of 
Congress.  "Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "the  question  is,  Shall 
this  harbor  of  Yankee  democracy  be  burned  ?  All  in  favor 
of  burning  it  will  say  '  Aye.' "  There  was  a  general  affirm- 
ative response.  And  when  he  added,  "  Those  opposed  will 
say  <  Nay,' "  silence  reigned  for  a  moment.  "  Light  up ! " 
cried  the  bold  Briton ;  and  the  order  was  soon  repeated  and 
obeyed  in  all  parts  of  the  building,  while  soldiers  and  sailors 
vied  with  each  other  in  collecting  combustible  material  for 
their  incendiary  fires.  The  books  on  the  shelves  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  were  used  as  kindling  wood  for  the 
north  wing ;  and  the  much  admired  full  length  portraits  of 
Louis  XYI,  and  his  queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  which  had 
been  presented  by  that  unfortunate  monarch  to  Congress, 
were  torn  from  their  frames  and  trampled  under  foot. 

The  capture  of  the  Capital  aroused  the  nation,  and  Con- 
gress was  compelled  to  investigate  the  causes  that  led  to  its 
easy  fall  and  partial  destruction.  Many  eminent  men  were 
smirched,  but  responsibility  was  never  fixed.  The  total 
damage  done  to  government  property  by  the  British  was 
over  $3,000,000. 

Of  the  Washington  of  1842,  at  the  completion  of  its  first 
half  century  of  existence,  Charles  Dickens  says  in  his 
"  American  Notes  " : — 

"It  is  sometimes  called  the  <City  of  Magnificent  Dis- 
tances,' but  it  might  with  greater  propriety  be  termed  the 
<  City  of  Magnificent  Intentions ' ;  for  it  is  only  on  taking 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  it  from  the  top  of  the  Capitol  that  one 
can  at  all  comprehend  the  vast  designs  of  its  projector,  an 
aspiring  Frenchman.  Spacious  avenues,  that  begin  in  noth- 
ing, and  lead  nowhere ;  streets,  miles  long,  that  only  want 
houses  and  inhabitants;  public  buildings  that  need  but  a 
public,  to  be  complete ;  and  ornaments  of  great  thorough- 
fares, which  only  lack  great  thoroughfares  to  ornament  — 


AT    THE  OPENING   OF    THE  CIVIL  WAR.  63 

are  its  leading  features.  One  might  fancy  the  season  over, 
and  most  of  the  houses  gone  out  of  town  forever  with  their 
masters.  To  the  admirers  of  cities  it  is  a  Barmecide  Feast : 
a  pleasant  field  for  the  imagination  to  rove  in ;  a  monument 
raised  to  a  deceased  project,  with  not  even  a  legible  inscrip- 
tion to  record  its  departed  greatness.  Such  as  it  is,  it  is 
likely  to  remain." 

Such  indeed  it  continued  to  remain  for  another  quarter 
of  a  century.  When  the  Civil  War  opened,  Washington 
was  a  third-rate  Southern  city  of  about  61,000  inhabitants. 
Even  its  mansions  were  without  modern  improvements  or 
conveniences,  while  the  mass  of  its  buildings  were  low, 
small,  and  shabby  in  the  extreme.  The  avenues,  superb  in 
length  and  breadth,  in  their  proportions  afforded  a  painful 
contrast  to  the  hovels  and  sheds  which  often  lined  them  on 
both  sides  for  miles.  Scarcely  a  public  building  was  fin- 
ished. No  Goddess  of  Liberty  held  tutelary  guard  over  the 
dome  of  the  Capitol.  Scaffolds,  engines,  and  pulleys  every- 
where defaced  its  vast  surfaces  of  white  marble.  The 
northern  wing  of  the  Treasury  building  was  not  even 
begun.  Where  it  now  stands  then  stood  the  State  depart- 
ments, crowded,  dingy,  and  old. 

All  Public  offices,  magnificent  in  conception,  were  in  a 
state  of  incompleteness.  Everything  worth  looking  at 
seemed  unfinished.  Everything  finished  looked  as  if  it 
should  have  been  destroyed  generations  before.  Even 
Pennsylvania-  Avenue,  the  leading  thoroughfare  of  the 
Capital,  was  lined  with  little  two-  and  three-story  shops, 
which  in  architectural  comeliness  had  no  comparison  with 
their  ilk  of  the  Bowery,  New  York.  JSTot  a  street  car  ran 
in  the  city.  A  few  straggling  omnibuses  and  helter-skelter 
hacks  were  the  only  public  conveyances  to  bear  members  of 
Congress  to  and  fro  between  the  Capitol  and  their  remote 
lodgings.  In  spring  and  autumn  the  entire  west  end  of  the 
city  was  one  vast  slough  of  impassible  mud.  One  would 


64  IN  DAYS  OF   STRIFE. 

have  to  walk  many  blocks  before  he  found  it  possible  to 
cross  a  single  street,  and  that  often  one  of  the  most  fashion- 
able of  the  city.  "The  waters  of  Tiber  Creek,"  which  in 
the  magnificent  intentions  of  the  founders  of  the  city  were 
"to  be  carried  to  the  top  of  Congress  House,  to  fall  in  a 
cascade  of  twenty  feet  in  height  and  fifty  in  breadth,  and 
thence  to  run  in  three  falls  through  the  gardens  into  the 
grand  canal,"  stretched  in  ignominious  stagnation  across  the 
city,  oozing  at  last  through  green  scum  and  slime  into  the 
still  more  ignominious  canal,  the  receptacle  of  all  abomina- 
tions, the  pest-breeder  and  disgrace  of  the  city. 

Capitol  Hill,  dreary,  desolate,  and  dirty,  stretched  away 
into  an  uninhabited  desert,  high  above  the  mud  of  the 
West  End.  Arid  hill  and  sodden  plain  showed  alike  the 
horrid  trail  of  war.  Forts  bristled  above  every  hill-top. 
Soldiers  were  entrenched  at  every  gate-way.  Shed  hospi 
tals  covered  acres  on  acres  in  every  suburb.  Churches,  art- 
halls,  and  private  mansions  were  filled  with  the  wounded 
and  dying  of  the  Union  armies.  The  noisy  rumbling  of  the 
army  wagon  disturbed  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night. 
The  rattle  of  the'  anguish-laden  ambulance,  the  piercing 
cries  of  the  sufferers  whom  it  carried,  made  morning,  noon, 
and  night  too  dreadful  to  portray.  The  streets  were  filled 
with  marching  troops,  with  new  regiments,  their  hearts 
strong  and  eager,  their  virgin  banners  all  untarnished  as 
they  marched  up  Pennsylvania  avenue,  playing  "  The  girl  I 
left  behind  me"  as  if  they  came  to  holiday  glory  —  and  to 
easy  victory.  Later  the  streets  were  crowded  with  soldiers, 
foot-sore,  sun-burned,  and  weary,  their  clothes  begrimed, 
their  banners  torn,  their  hearts  sick  with  hope  deferred, 
ready  to  die  with  the  anguish  of  long-delayed  triumph. 
Every  moment  had  its  drum-beat,  every  hour  was  alive  with 
the  tramp  of  troops  going,  coming. 

How  many  an  American  youth,  marching  to  its  defense, 
beholding  for  the  first  time  the  great  dome  of  the  Capitol 


THE  AWAKENING   OF   LOYALTY.  65 

rising  before  his  eyes,  comprehended  in  one_deep  gaze,  as  he 
had  never  before  in  his  whole  life,  all  that  that  Capitol 
meant  to  him,  and  to  every  freeman.  Never,  till  the  Capi- 
tal had  cost  the  life  of  the  dauntless  patriots  of  our  land, 
did  it  become  to  the  heart  of  the  American  citizen  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  object  of  personal  love  that  it  was  to 
George  "Washington.  Up  to  that  hour  the  intense  loyalty 
to  country,  the  pride  in  the  National  Capital  which  amounts 
to  a  passion  in  the  European,  had  been  in  the  American 
diffused,  weakened,  and  broken.  In  ten  thousand  instances, 
State  allegiance  had  taken  the  place  of  love  of  country. 
Washington  was  nothing  but  a  place  in  which  Congress 
could  meet  and  politicians  carry  on  their  games  at  high 
stakes  for  power  and  place.  New  York  was  the  Capital  to 
the  New  Yorker,  Boston  to  the  New  Englander,  New 
Orleans  to  the  Southerner,  Chicago  to  the  man  of  the  West. 
There  was  no  one  central  rallying  point  of  patriots.  The 
unfinished  Washington  monument  stood  the  monument  of 
the  nation's  neglect  and  shame.  What  Westminster  Abbey 
and  Hall  were  to  the  Englishman,  what  Notre  Dame  and 
the  Tuileries  were  to  the  Frenchman,  the  unfinished  and 
desecrated  Capitol  had  never  been  to  the  average  American. 
Anarchy  threatened  it.  In  an  hour  the  loyal  sons  of  the 
nation  were  awake  to  the  danger  that  menaced  the  Capital, 
and  ready  to  march  to  its  defense.  Washington  City  was 
no  longer  only  a  name  to  the  mother  waiting  and  praying 
in  the  distant  hamlet  —  her  boy  was  encamped  on  the  floor 
of  the  Rotunda.  No  longer  a  far-off  mirage  to  the  lonely 
wife  —  her  husband  was  on  guard  upon  the  heights  which 
surrounded  the  Capital.  No  longer  a  place  good  for  noth- 
ing but  political  schemes  to  the  village  sage  —  his  son, 
wrapped  in  his  blanket,  slept  on  the  stone  steps  under  the 
shadow  of  the  great  Treasury,  or  paced  his  beat  before  the 
Presidential  mansion.  The  Capital  was  sacred  at  last  to 
tens  of  thousands  whose  beloved  languished  in  the  wards 
5 


66  A  CITY   SACRED   AND   BELOVED.  ' 

of  its  hospitals  or  slept  the  sleep  of  the  brave  in  the  dust 
of  its  cemeteries. 

Thus  from  the  holocaust  of  war,  from  the  ashes  of  our 
sires  and  sons,  arose  new-born  the  holy  love  of  country,  and 
veneration  for  its  Capital.  The  zeal  of  nationality,  the 
passion  of  patriotism,  awoke  above  the  bodies  of  our  slain. 
National  songs,  the  inspiration  of  patriots,  were  sung  with 
enthusiasm.  National  monuments  began  to  rise,  conse- 
crated forever  to  the  martyrs  of  Liberty.  Never,  till  that 
hour,  did  the  Federal  City, —  the  city  of  George  Washing- 
ton, the  first-born  child  of  the  Union,  born  to  live  or  to 
perish  with  it, — become  to  the  heart  of  the  American  peo- 
ple that  which  it  had  so  long  been  in  the  eyes  of  the  world 
—  truly  the  capital  of  a  great  Republic. 

The  citizen  of  our  times  sees  the  dawn  of  that  perfect 
day  of  which  the  founders  of  the  Capital  so  fondly  dreamed. 
The  old  provincial  Southern  city  is  no  more.  From  its 
foundations  has  risen  another  city,  neither  Southern,  North- 
ern, Eastern  nor  Western,  but  national,  cosmopolitan. 

Where  the  "  Slough  of  Despond  "  spread  its  black  mud 
across  the  acres  of  the  West  End,  where  pedestrians  were 
"slumped"  and  horses  "stalled,"  and  discomfort  and  dis- 
gust prevailed,  we  now  see  broad  asphalt  carriage  drives, 
(level  as  floors  and  lined  on  each  side  by  palatial  resi- 
dences,) over  which  splendid  equipages  glide  with  a  smooth- 
ness that  is  a  luxury,  and  an  ease  of  action  which  is  rest. 
Where  ravines  and  holes  made  the  highway  dangerous,  now 
asphalt  pavements  stretch  over  miles  on  miles  of  inviting 
road.  Where  streets  and  avenues  crossed  and  re-crossed 
their  long  vistas  of  shadeless  dust,  now  plat  on  plat  of  rest- 
ful grass  "  park  "  the  city  from  end  to  end,  and  luxuriant 
trees  with  each  succeeding  summer  cast  a  deeper  and  more 
protecting  shade. 

Old  Washington  was  full  of  small  Saharas.  Where  the 
great  avenues  intersected,  acres  of  white  sand  were  caught 


STATELY,   BEAUTIFUL  WASHINGTON  67 

up  and  carried  through  the  air  by  counter  winds.  It  blis- 
tered at  white  heat  beneath  your  feet,  it  flickered  like  a 
fiery  veil  before  your  eyes^  it  penetrated  your  lungs  and 
begrimed  your  clothes.  Now  emerald  "circles,"  with  cen- 
tral fountains  cooling  the  air  with  their  crystal  spray, 
refresh  alike  the  young  and  the  old  who  are  ever  to  be 
found  among  the  flowers  and  beneath  the  shades  of  these 
beautiful  parks.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  has  outlived  its 
mud.  More  than  one  superb  building  now  rises  high  above 
the  lowly  shops  of  the  past,  a  forerunner  of  the  architec- 
tural splendor  of  the  buildings  of  the  future.  Swift  and 
commodious  street  cars  have  taken  the  place  of  the  solitary 
stage,  plodding  its  slow  way  between  Georgetown  and  the 
Capitol.  Stately  mansions  have  risen  in  every  direction, 
taking  the  place  of  the  small,  isolated  houses  of  the  past, 
with  their  stiff  porches,  high  steps,  and  open  basement  door- 
ways. 

No  scaffolding  and  pulleys  now  deface  the  snowy  sur- 
faces of  the  Capitol.  Complete,  its  grand  dome  pierces  the 
sky  till  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  on  its  top  seems  enveloped  in 
the  clouds.  Flowers  blossom  on  the  sites  of  old  forts,  so 
alert  with  warlike  life  during  the  Civil  War.  The  army 
roads,  so  deeply  grooved  then,  have  long  been  grass-grown. 
The  long  shed-hospitals  vanished  years  ago,  and  splendid 
dwellings  stand  on  their  already  forgotten,  sites.  The 
"  boys ''  who  languished  in  their  wards,  the  boys  who 
proudly  marched  these  streets,  who  guarded  this  city,  alas ! 
far  too  many  of  them  were  laid  to  rest  years  ago  on  yonder 
hill-top  under  the  oaks  of  Arlington,  and  in  the  cemetery  of 
the  Soldiers'  Home! 


CHAPTEE  IT. 

BUILDING  THE  CAPITOL  — HOW  WASHINGTON  AND 

JEFFERSON  ADVERTISED  FOR  PLANS  — COM- 

PLETION  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

Early  Trials  and  Tribulations  —  Schemers  and  Speculators  —  A  "Front 
Door  in  the  Rear"  —  Seeking  for  Suitable  Plans  —  A  Troublesome 
Question  —  Washington  and  Jefferson  Advertise  Premiums  for  the 
Best  Plan  — A  Curious  "ad"  — Some  Remarkable  Offerings  — The 
Successful  Competitor  —  Carrying  Off  the  Prize  —  Laying  of  the 
Corner-Stone  by  President  Washington  —  A  Defeated  Competitor's 
Audacity  T- President  Washington's  Rage  —  Jealousies  of  Rivals  — 
Congress  Sitting  in  "the  Oven"  —  Crimination  and  Recrimination  — 
Building  Additions  to  the  Capitol  —  Hoodwinking  Congress  —  How 
the  Money  Was  Appropriated  to  Build  the  Great  Dome  — A  Successful 
Ruse  —  Laying  of  the  Second  Corner-Stone  by  Daniel  Webster  — 
Completion  of  the  Building  —  Its  Dimensions  and  Cost — Curious 
Construction  of  the  Great  Dome— Its  Weight  and  Cost. 


of  the  first  essentials  of  the  Capital  city  was  a 
Capitol  building.  The  plans  for  such  a  struc- 
ture had  occupied  the  minds  of  the  founders  of 
the  young  government  long  before  L'Enfant 
had  surveyed  the  ground  and  designated  the  brow 
of  the  eastern  plateau  as  the  site  for  the  Capitol. 
Cherishing  a  vision  of  the  future  metropolis  with  a  fervor 
and  clearness  hardly  equaled  since  the  apocalyptic  vision 
of  the  aged  apostle  at  Patmos,  the  earnest  patriots  of 
those  days  may  have  pictured  the  spacious  plateau  extending 
eastward  to  the  Anacostia,  two  miles  or  more,  as  occupied 
by  the  mansions  of  the  cultured  and  the  wealthy,  while 
the  lower  lands  to  the  west  fell  to  the  humbler  classes  and 

(68) 


GROWTH  OF  THE  INFANT  CITY.  69 

the  commercial  interests.  This  has  been  assumed  to  be  the 
case,  because  an  exorbitant  price  was  placed  upon  some  of 
this  land  to  the  eastward. 

One  of  the  largest  of  the  original  proprietors,  and  the 
one  whose  acres  included  most  of  this  high  plateau,  was 
Daniel  Carroll,  a  man  of  culture  and  of  high  standing  in 
Maryland.  He  was  a  man  in  whom  Washington  placed  the 
greatest  confidence,  and  was  chosen  one  of  the  Commission- 
ers for  the  laying  out  of  the  city.  Naturally  he  anticipated 
that  his  land  would  command  enormous  prices.  Specu- 
lators were  at  once  eager  for  it  and  bought  several  acres, 
largely  with  promises  to  pay.  Stephen  Girard,  then  the 
wealthiest  man  in  Philadelphia,  offered  $250,000  for  a 
portion  of  the  estate,  but  Carroll  asked  a  round  million. 
The  result,  it  is  assumed,  was  that  the  city  grew  in  the 
other  direction  where  land  was  cheaper,  while  Carroll,  who 
had  acquiesced  always  in  Washington's  plans,  died  prac- 
tically penniless,  and  obstinate  Davy  Burns  became  one  of 
the  richest  men  of  the  city. 

It  is  assumed  also  that  because  of  the  anticipations 
of  greater  growth  to  the  eastward,  the  Capitol,  like  the 
Irishman's  shanty  which  had  its  front  door  at  the  rear,  now 
stands  with  its  majestic  back  to  the  fashionable  and  thriv- 
ing part  of  the  city.  But  there  are  no  good  grounds  for 
the  assumption.  In  the  first  place  it  is  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  founders  would  have  placed  the  White 
House  —  the  center  about  which  society  would  inevitably 
circle  —  a  mile  and  a  half  away  in  a  location  which  would 
not  attract  home  seekers  among  the  6lite.  Then,  too,  all 
the  public  buildings  planned  were  located  to  the  west  of  the 
Capitol.  Furthermore,  a  recent  careful  study  of  the  plans 
which  were  originally  accepted  for  the  Capitol,  and  upon 
which  the  construction  proceeded  for  some  years,  plainly 
indicates  that  it  was  originally  intended  to  have  the  main 
entrance,  not  on  the  east,  but  on  the  west. 


70  ADVERTISING  FOR  PLANS. 

It  was  amid  the  trials  and  tribulations  attending  the 
early  days  of  construction,  so  painful  to  the  placid  soul  of 
Washington  and  so  exasperating  to  the  more  impatient  Jef- 
ferson, that  the  position  of  the  main  entrance  was  changed. 
As  we  now  look  at  this  stately  pile  of  marble,  crowned  by  its 
magnificent  soaring  dome,  we  can  hardly  realize  that  it  did 
not  spring  forth  a  completed  whole,  like  Athena  from  the 
head  of  Jove,  and  that  it  had  an  extremely  complex  and 
precarious  infancy. 

The  question  of  how  to  get  suitable  plans  for  the  build- 
ing was  very  troublesome  to  Washington  and  Jefferson. 
Finally  the  following  advertisement,  written  by  Jefferson 
and  revised  by  Washington,  was  printed  in  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  papers : 

A  PKEMIUM 

of  a  lot  in  the  city  to  be  designated  by  impartial  judges  and  $500  or  a  medal 
of  that  value  at  the  option  of  the  party  will  be  given  by  the  Commission- 
ers of  the  Federal  Buildings  to  persons  who,  before  the  15th  day  of  July, 
1792,  shall  produce  them  the  most  approved  plan,  if  adopted  by  them,  for 
a  Capitol  to  be  erected  in  the  city  ;  and  $250  or  a  medal  for  a  plan  deemed 
next  in  merit  to  the  one  they  shall  adopt.  The  building  to  be  of  brick  and 
to  contain  the  following  compartments,  to  wit : 
"A  Conference  Room.  j  To  contain  300  * 

"A  Room  for  Representatives  (   persons  each. 

,,.  T  ,,  ,      .  These   rooms  to  be  of 

"A  Lobby  or  ante-chamber  to  the  latter.  }• 

"A  Senate  Room  of  1,200  square  feet  of  area.  elevation. 

"An  ante-chamber  or  Lobby  to  the  latter. 

"Twelve  rooms  of  600  feet  square  are  each  for  committee  rooms  and 

clerks  to  be  half  of  the  elevation  of  the  former. 

"Drawings  will  be  expected  to  the  ground  plats,  elevations  of  each  front 

and  sections  through  the  building  in  such  directions  as  may  be  necessary  to 

explain  the  material,  structure  and  an  estimate  of  the  cubic  feet  of  brick 

work  composing  the  whole  mass  of  the  wall. 

THOS.  JOHNSON,  ) 
DD.  STEWART,     >  Commissioners. 
DANL.  CARROLL,  ) 
Mar.  14,  1792. 


PLANS  OF  HALLETT  AND  THORNTON.          71 

This  drew  forth  sixteen  plans,  mostly  from  amateurs 
who  had  no  idea  of  the  artistic  or  practical.  Most  of  these 
plans  have  been  pronounced  by  modern  architects  very  bad 
—  some  of  them  bordering  on  the  ludicrous.  Some  of 
these  curiosities  are  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society.  None  rose  to  the  ideals  entertained  by 
Washington  or  Jefferson,  but  the  one  approaching  nearest 
was  that  of  Stephen  H.  Hallett  of  Philadelphia,  an  architect 
who  had  been  educated  in  France.  He  was  accordingly 
invited  to  come  to  Washington;  both  Washington  and 
Jefferson  gave  him  suggestions ;  and  thus,  practically  under 
official  engagement,  he  spent  six  months  in  working  up  and 
revising  his  plans.  Meantime  Jefferson  had  received  a 
letter  from  Dr.  William  Thornton,  a  native  and  resident  of 
the  West  Indies,  saying  that  he  would  like  to  submit  plans, 
but  could  not  get  them  to  this  country  within  the  adver- 
tised time.  About  the  time  when  Hallett  had  his  plans  re- 
vised, as  he  supposed,  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  govern- 
ment, Thornton's  plans  arrived  and  at  once  and  completely 
captivated  both  Washington  and  Jefferson.  The  latter 
wrote  "to  Dr.  Stewart,  or  to  "all  the  gentlemen"  Commis- 
sioners, January  31,  1793 : 

"I  have,  under  consideration,  Mr.  Hallett's  plans  for  the  Capitol, 
which  undoubtedly  have  a  great  deal  of  merit.  Doctor  Thornton  has  also 
given  me  a  view  of  his.  The  grandeur,  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  ex- 
terior, the  propriety  with  which  the  departments  are  distributed,  and 
economy  in  the  mass  of  the  whole  structure,  will,  I  doubt  not,  give  it  a 
preference  in  your  eyes,  as  it  has  done  in  mine  and  those  of  several  others 
whom  I  have  consulted.  I  have,  therefore,  thought  it  better  to  give  the 
Doctor  time  to  finish  his  plan,  and  for  this  purpose  to  delay  until  your 
meeting  a  final  decision.  Some  difficulty  arises  with  respect  to  Mr.  Hal- 
lett, who,  you  know,  was  in  some  degree  led  into  his  plan  by  ideas  which 
we  all  expressed  to  him.  This  ought  not  to  induce  us  to  prefer  it  to  a 
better;  but  while  he  is  liberally  rewarded  for  the  time  and  labor  he  has  ex- 
pended on  it,  his  feelings  should  be  saved  and  soothed  as  much  as  possible. 
I  leave  it  to  yourselves  how  best  to  prepare  him  for  the  possibility  that 
the  Doctor's  plans  may  be  preferred  to  his." 


72  HALLETT  ENGAGED  AS  ARCHITECT. 

February  1, 1793,  Jefferson  writes  from  Philadelphia  to 
Mr.  Carroll: 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  —  Doctor  Thornton's  plan  for  a  Capitol  has  been  pro- 
duced and  has  so  captivated  the  eyes  and  j  udgments  of  all  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  you  will  prefer  it  when  it  shall  be  exhibited  to  you;  as  no  doubt 
exists  here  of  its  preference  over  all  which  have  been  produced,  and 
among  its  admirers  no  one  is  more  decided  than  him,  whose  decision  is 
m\>st  important.  It  is  simple,  noble,  beautiful,  excellently  distributed  and 
modern  in  size.  A  just  respect  for  the  right  of  approbation  in  the  Com- 
missioners will  prevent  any  formal  decision  in  the  President,  till  the  plan 
shall  be  laid  before  you  and  approved  by  you.  In  the  meantime  the 
interval  of  apparent  doubt  may  be  improved  for  settling  the  mind  of  poor 
Hallett,  whose  merits  and  distresses  interest  every  one  for  his  tranquillity 
and  pecuniary  relief." 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  building  was  erected  upon 
Hallett' s  plans,  but  the  facts  do  not  substantiate  the  state- 
ment. There  must  have  been  something  genuinely  mer- 
itorious in  Thornton's  plan  to  have  so  completely  overcome 
the  personal  equation,  the  sentiment  which  just  men  like 
Washington  and  Jefferson  naturally  felt  for  Hallett,  who 
had  received  their  encouragement  and  practically  their 
endorsement.  Thornton  was  awarded  the  first  premium, 
Hallett  the  second.  But  Thornton  was  not  a  practical 
architect,  and  the  Commissioners  engaged  Hallett  on  a 
moderate  salary,  to  reduce  his  rival's  plans  to  practical 
form. 

He  immediately  embarked  upon  a  crusade  against 
Thornton's  plans;  he  continually  worried  the  Commis- 
sioners about  defects  in  them;  he  charged  that  Thornton 
had  stolen  his  ideas,  and  later  claimed  that  Thornton's  plans 
were  absolutely  impracticable.  By  the  summer  of  1793 
Washington  was  almost  in  despair.  He  intimated  to 
Jefferson  that  if  there  were  such  defects  in  Thornton's  plans 
that  they  could  not  be  remedied,  steps  should  at  once  be 
taken  to  secure  new  plans,  for  the  "Demon  of  Jealousy" 
was  at  work  in  the  "lower  town,"  which  beheld  the  White 


LAYING  THE  CORNER-STONE.  73 

House  nearing  completion  and  the  Capitol  hardly  begun. 
Commissioners  were  appointed,  went  over  all  the  plans,  and 
made  some  modifications  in  Thornton's  designs,  much  to 
Hallett's  joy;  but  later  they  dropped  most  of  them  and 
returned  substantially  to  Thornton's  original  idea. 

September  18,  1793,  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Capitol 
was  laid  by  Washington  with  imposing  ceremonies.  A 
copy  of  the  Maryland  Gazette,  published  in  Annapolis,  Sep- 
tember 26,  179 3,  gives  a  minute  account  of  the  grand 
Masonic  ceremonial  which  attended  the  laying  of  that 
august  stone.  It  tells  us  that  "  there  appeared  on  the  south- 
ern bank  of  the  river  Potomac  one  of  the  finest  companies 
of  artillery  that  hath  been  lately  seen  parading  to  receive 
the  President  of  the  IT.  S."  Also,  that  the  Commissioners 
delivered  to  the  President,  who  deposited  it  in  the  stone,  a 
silver  plate  with  the  following  inscription : 

"  This  southeast  corner  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  was  laid  on  the  18th  day  of  September,  1798,  in 
the  thirteenth  year  of  American  independence ;  in  the  first  year,  second 
term  of  the  Presidency  of  George  Washington,  whose  virtues  in  the  civil 
administration  of  his  country  have  been  as  conspicuous  and  beneficial,  as 
his  military  valor  and  prudence  have  been  useful,  in  establishing  her 
liberties  ;  and  in  the  year  of  Masonry,  5793,  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  concert  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  several  lodges  under 
its  jurisdiction,  and  Lodge  No.  22  from  Alexandria,  Virginia. 
(Signed)  THOMAS  JOHNSON,  ] 

DAVID  STEWART,    >  Commissioners,  etc." 

DANIEL  CARROLL,  ) 

The  Gazette  continues : 

"  The  whole  company  retired  to  an  extensive  booth,  where  an  ox  of 
500  Ibs.  weight  was  barbecued,  of  which  the  company  generally  partook 
with  every  abundance  of  other  recreation.  The  festival  concluded  with 
fifteen  successive  volleys  from  the  artillery,  whose  military  discipline  and 
manoeuvres  merit  every  commendation. 

"Before  dark  the  whole  company  departed  with  joyful  hopes  of  tha 
production  of  their  labors." 


74  OBSTINATE  ARCHITECTS. 

Finding  that  he  could  not  procure  official  changes  in  the 
plan,  Hallett  had  the  boldness  to  change  whatever  he 
wished  without  asking  authority.  He  was  reprimanded, 
threatened  to  resign,  refused  to  surrender  the  plans,  and 
was  discharged.  When  Washington  saw  the  unauthorized 
changes  Hallett  had  made  he  expressed  his  disapproval  in 
terms  his  dignity  seldom  permitted.  As  if  to  secure  them- 
selves against  further  dangers  of  this  kind  Dr.  Thornton 
was  made  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  District,  and  the 
construction  of  the  building  was  begun  substantially  on  his 
plans. 

But  other  troubles  quickly  appeared.  Hallett's  place  as 
superintendent  was  filled  in  the  fall  of  1794  by  the  selection 
of  George  Hadfield,  who  had  come  highly  recommended  as 
one  who  would  with  becoming  meekness  and  subordination 
carry  out  the  designs;  but  he  had  been  at  work  only  a 
short  time  when  he  too  began  to  suggest  changes,  which, 
not  meeting  with  favor,  he  proceeded  to  make  on  his  own 
authority.  Washington  again  vigorously  disapproved ; 
Hadfield  resigned  ;  the  Commissioners  hastened  to  accept ; 
Hadfield  reconsidered,  and  was'  again  engaged  with  the 
express  stipulation  that  he  was  to  superintend  but  "  not  to 
alterate."  His  obstinacy,  however,  soon  overcame  his  good 
resolutions  and  finally  in  1798  he  was  discharged  for  not 
surrendering  the  plans. 

We  need  not  pursue  the  disturbed  course  of  events  in 
detail.  The  above  indicated  the  nature  of  the  troubles 
which  seemed  to  beset  the  building  in  these  early  days. 
Slow  progress  was  made.  The  north  wing  was  made  ready 
for  the  first  sitting  of  Congress  in  Washington,  November 
17,  1800.  By  that  time  the  walls  of  the  south  wing  had 
risen  twenty  feet  and  were  covered  over  for  the  temporary 
use  of  the  House  of  representatives.  It  sat  in  this  room 
—  named  "the  oven''  — from  1802  until  1804.  At  that 
time  the  transient  roof  was  removed  and  the  wing  com 


THE  CAPITOL  COMPLETED.  75 

pleted.  Meantime  Dr.  Thornton  resigned  as  Commissioner 
to  become  Keeper  of  the  Patents,  and  the  year  following, 
1803,  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  was  appointed  supervising 
architect  of  the  building.  He  also  made  changes,  but  they 
were  largely  confined  to  the  interior  and  the  central  portion 
of  the  exterior.  He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  most  of 
his  modifications  were  undoubtedly  improvements.  He 
invented  what  has  been  called  the  American  style  of  archi- 
tecture, by  introducing  corn  and  tobacco  leaves  into  the 
capitals  of  the  columns. 

It  was  with  Latrobe  also  that  the  idea  of  having  the 
main  entrance  on  the  east  originated,  and  thus  it  was  ten 
years  after  the  construction  was  begun  and  after  the  wings 
were  built  that  the  building  was  made  to  face  the  east. 
Thornton's  western  entrance  would  have  consisted  of  a 
grand  semi-circular  colonnade  with  a  broad  sweep  of  circu- 
lar steps  running  down  the  hill,  while  on  the  east  he  planned 
a  less  imposing  portico  with  a  basement  entrance. 

When,  after  the  departure  of  the  British,  the  new  oppo- 
sition of  those  who  wished  to  move  the  Capital  elsewhere 
and  put  an  end  to  the  troublesome  attempt  "  to  build  a  Cap 
ital  in  the  woods  "  had  been  overcome,  the  construction  was 
resumed  under  Latrobe.  He  did  not  get  on  well  either 
with  Congress  or  the  Commissioners,  and  many  bitter  things 
were  said  in  the  reports  of  those  days.  Finally  in  1817  he 
resigned.  Charles  Bulfinch  of  Boston,  the  new  architect, 
completed  the  center  of  the  building,  making  the  western 
entrance  more  imposing  than  Latrobe  had  planned,  and  in 
1827,  or  over  thirty  years  after  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone, he  reported  the  whole  building  complete.  Thus  the 
Capitol  as  it  then  stood  was  made  up  of  the  designs  of 
Thornton,  Latrobe,  and  Bulfinch,  modified  by  Hallett  and 
others. 

The  growth  of  the  country  had  exceeded  the  most  extrav- 
agant expectation  of  its  founders,  and  when  after  the  war 


76  EXPANDING  WITH  THE  NATION. 

with  Mexico  it  became  evident  that  the  country  would 
extend  to  the  Pacific,  bringing  in  many  new  states  and 
many  representatives,  it  was  promptly  decided  "  to  extend 
the  wings  by  greater  wings  called  extensions."  Thomas  U. 
Walter  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  built  Girard  College,  was 
secured  as  architect.  As  the  sandstone  walls  of  the  old 
structure  had  been  painted  white  to  cover  the  damage  done 
by  the  British,  it  was  decided  to  construct  the  additions  of 
white  marble,  while  the  one  hundred  massive  columns  to  be 
placed  around  them  were  to  be  each  a  solid  block.  Walter 
was  an  architect  of  splendid  ability.  He  perceived  better 
than  Congress  could  the  kind  of  building  which  the  future 
of  the  great  country  would  require,  but  well  knew  the  oppo- 
sition he  would  meet  if  Congress  had  time  to  deliberate 
over  the  expense  of  carrying  out  proper  plans.  To  com- 
plete the  wings  and  leave  the  little  flat  copper  dome  in  the 
center  would  give  the  building  a  squat  and  unpleasant 
appearance.  Walter  drew'his  plans  complete,  dome  and 
all,  much  as  it  at  present  appears ;  but  knowing  that  Con- 
gress would  not  vote  the  sum  required,  he  first  submitted 
the  plans  for  the  wings.  Later,  when  Congress  was  about 
to  adjourn,  and  was  in  night  session  with  everybody  in  good 
spirits,  he  had  the  plan  of  the  great  dome,  handsomely 
drawn  and  highly  colored,  submitted.  There  was  no  time 
to  think  of  expense.  In  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment  and 
the  desire  to  adjourn,  the  money  was  appropriated ;  but  the 
amount  barely  sufficed  to  remove  the  old  dome !  Yet  it  was 
to  this  little  ruse  that  we  owe  the  existence  of  that  great 
dome  which  is  the  crowning  glory  of  the  structure. 

Fifty-eight  years  after  the  first  stone  was  set  in  place, 
another  corner-stone  was  laid,  beneath  which  was  deposited 
a  tablet  bearing  the  memorable  words  of  Daniel  Webster : 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  the  City  of  Washington, 
being  the  4th  day  of  July,  1851,  this  stone  designated  as  the  corner-stone 


MEMORABLE  WORDS  OF  WEBSTER.  77 

of  the  Extension  of  the  Capitol,  according  to  a  plan  approved  by  the  Pres- 
ident in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress  was  laid  by 

MILLARD  FILMORE, 

President  of  the  United  States, 

Afs'sted  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  Lodges,  in  the  presence  of 
many  members  of  Congress,  of  officers  of  the  Executive  and  Judiciary 
departments,  National,  State  and  Districts,  of  officers  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  the  Corporate  authorities  of  this  and  neighboring  cities,  many  asso- 
ciations, civil  and  military  and  Masonic,  officers  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, and  National  Institute,  professors  of  colleges  and  teachers  of  schools 
of  the  Districts,  with  their  students  and  pupils,  and  a  vast  concourse  of 
people  from  places  near  and  remote,  including  a  few  surviving  gentlemen 
who  witnessed  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  by  President 
Washington,  on  the  18th  day  of  September,  1793.  If,  therefore,  it  shall 
hereafter  be  the  will  of  God  that  this  structure  shall  fall  from  its  base,  that 
its  foundation  be  upturned,  and  this  deposit  brought  to  the  eyes  of  men  ; 
be  it  then  known  that  on  this  day  the  Union  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica stands  firm,  that  their  constitution  still  exists  unimpaired,  and  with  all 
its  original  usefulness  and  glory  growing  every  day  stronger  and  stronger 
in  the  affections  of  the  great  body  of  the  American  people,  and  attracting 
more  and  more  the  admiration  of  the  world.  And  all  here  assembled, 
whether  belonging  to  public  life  or  to  private  life,  with  hearts  devoutly 
thankful  to  Almighty  God  for  the  preservation  of  the  liberty  and  happi- 
ness of  the  country,  unite  in  sincere  and  fervent  prayer,  that  this  deposit, 
and  the  walls  and  arches,  the  domes  and  towers,  the  columns  and  entabla- 
tures, now  to  be  erected  over  it  may  endure  forever. 
**  God  save  the  United  States  of  America. 
DANIEL  WEBSTER, 

Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States." 

Already  the  irmtterings  of  civil  revolution  stirred  in  the 
air.  Could  Webster  have  foreseen»that  the  marble  walls  of 
the  Capitol  whose  corner-stone  he  then  laid  would  rise  only 
ten  years  later  amid  the  thunder  of  cannon  aimed  to  destroy 
it  and  the  great  Union  of  States  which  it  crowned,  to  what 
anguish  of  eloquence  would  his  words  have  risen ! 

The  great  building  was  not  fully  completed  till  1867  or 
nearly  seventy-five  years  after  the  laying  of  the  first  corner- 
stone.  The  whole  structure  is  751  feet,  four  inches  long ; 


78  THE  CROWN  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

thirty-one  feet  longer  than  St.  Peter's  in  Eome,  and  175 
feet  longer  than  St.  Paul's  in  London.  Its  greatest  dimen- 
sion from  east  to  west  is  350  feet. 

The  ground  actually  covered  by  the  Capitol  is  153,112 
square  feet  of  floor  space,  or  nearly  four  acres.      Its  total 
cost  from  the  beginning  to  the  present  time,  including  the 
land,  is  estimated  at  nearly  $16,000,000.     The  great  dome, 
the  fitting  crown  to  the  noble  edifice,  is  of  cast  iron,  and 
weighs   8,909,200  pounds,   or  nearly  4,500    tons.       Large 
sheets  of  iron,  securely  bolted  together,  rest  on  iron  ribs, 
and  by  an  ingenious  plan   used    in   its   construction   the 
changes  of  temperature  cause  it  to  contract  and  expand 
"like  the  folding  and    unfolding  of   the  lily."      It  cost 
$1,047,291.89  according  to  the  official  figures.     Eight  years 
were  required  in  its  construction,  so  carefully  was  the  work 
done,  and  as  it  is  thoroughly  protected  from  the  weather  by 
thick  coats  of  white  paint,  renewed  yearly,  it  is  likely  to 
last  for  centuries.     Its  base  consists  of  a  peristyle  of  thirty- 
six  fluted  columns  surmounted  by  an  entablature  and  a  bal- 
ustrade.    Then  comes  an  attic  story,  and  above  this  th« 
dome  proper.     The  ascent  .to  the  dome  may  be  made  by  a 
winding  stairway  of  365  steps,  one  for  each  day  in  the  year. 
It  is  even  possible  to  climb  to  the  foot  of  the  statue.     At 
the  top  is  a  gallery,  surrounded  by  a  balustrade,  from  which 
may  be  obtained  a  magnificent  view  of  the  city  and  its 
environs.     Rising  from  the  gallery  is  the  "  lantern,"  twenty- 
four  feet  and  four  inches  in  diameter  and  fifty  feet  high, 
surrounded  by  a  peristyle.     The  lantern  has  electric  lights 
which  illuminate  the  dome  during  a  night  session.     Over 
the  lantern  is  a  globe,  and  standing  on  the  globe  is  the 
bronze  statue  of  Liberty,  designed  by  Thomas  Crawford. 
It  is  nineteen  feet  six  inches  high,  weighs  seven  and  one-half 
tons,  and  cost  more  than  $24,000.     It  was  placed  in  position 
December  2,  1863,  amid  the  salutes  from  guns  in  Washing- 
ton and  the  surrounding  forts,  and  the  cheers  of  thousands 


IMPERFECT,    BUT  YET  MAJESTIC.  79 

of  soldiers.  It  was  lifted  to  its  position  in  sections,  after- 
wards  bolted  together.  The  original  plaster  model  is  in  the 
National  Museum. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  Capitol  has  suffered  as  a 
National  Building  from,  the  conflicting  and  foreign  tastes  of 
its  decorators.  Literally  begun  in  the  woods  by  a  nation  in 
its  infancy,  it  not  only  borrowed  its  general  style  from  the 
buildings  of  antiquity,  but  it  was  built  by  men,  strangers  in 
thought  and  spirit  to  the  genius  of  a  new  Republic,  and  the 
unwrought  and  unembodied  poetry  of  its  virgin  soil.  Its 
earlier  decorators,  all  Italians,  overlaid  its  walls  with  their 
florid  colors  and  foreign  symbols.  The  American  plants, 
birds  and  animals  representing  prodigal  Nature  at  home, 
though  exquisitely  painted,  are  buried  in  twilight  passages, 
while  mythological  bar-maids,  misnamed  goddesses,  dance 
in  the  most  conspicuous  places.  Happily  the  Capitol  has 
already  survived  this  era  of  false  decorative  art. 

Phidias  created  the  Parthenon.  Beneath  his  eyes  it  slowly 
blossomed,  the  consummate  flower  of  Hellenic  art.  It  has 
never  been  granted  to  another  one  man  to  create  a  perfect 
building  which  should  be  at  once  the  marvel  and  model  of 
all  time.  Many  architects  have  wrought  upon  the  Ameri- 
can Capitol,  and  there  are  discrepancies  in  its  proportions 
wherein  we  trace  the  conflict  of  their  opposing  idiosyn- 
crasies. "We  see  places  where  their  contending  tastes  met 
and  did  not  mingle,  where  the  harmony  and  sublimity 
which  each  sought  were  lost.  We  see  frescoed  fancies  and 
gilded  traceries  which  tell  no  story  ;  we  see  paintings  which 
mean  nothing  but  glare.  But  a  human  interest  attaches 
itself  to  every  part  of  the  noble  building.  Its  very  defects 
the  more  endear  it  to  us,  for,  above  all  else,  these  are  human. 
The  stranger  fancies  that  he  could  never  be  lost  in  its  laby- 
rinths, yet  he  is  constantly  finding  passages  that  he  dreamed 
not  of,  and  confronting  shut  and  silent  doors  which  he  may 
not  enter.  But  the  deeper  he  penetrates  into  its  recesses, 


80  THE  TREASURE-HOUSE  OF  THE  NATION. 

the  more  positively  lie  is  pervaded  by  its  nobleness,  and  the 
more  conscious  he  becomes  of  its  magnitude  and  its  magnifi- 
cence. 

The  Capitol  is  vastly  more  than  an  object  of  mere  per- 
sonal attachment  to  be  measured  by  a  narrow  individual 
standard.  To  every  American  citizen  it  is  the  majestic 
symbol  of  the  majesty  of  his  land.  You  may  be  lowly  and 
poor.  You  may  not  own  the  cottage  which  shelters  you, 
nor  the  scanty  acres  which  you  till.  Your  power  may  not 
cross  your  own  door-step;  yet  these  historic  statues  and 
paintings,  these  marble  corridors,  these  soaring  walls,  this 
mighty  dome,  are  yours.  The  Goddess  of  Liberty,  gazing 
down  from  her  proud  eminence,  bestows  no  right  upon  the 
lofty  which  she  does  not  extend  equally  to  the  lowliest  of 
her  sons. 

"Within  the  walls  of  the  Capitol  every  State  in  the  Union 
holds  its  memories,  and  garners  its  hopes.  Every  hall  and 
corridor,  every  arch  and  alcove,  every  painting  and  marble 
is  eloquent  with  the  history  of  its  past,  and  the  prophecy  of 
its  future.  The  torch  of  revolution  flamed  in  sight,  yet 
never  reached  this  beloved  Capitol.  Its  unscathed  walls 
are  the  trophies  of  victorious  war ;  its  dome  is  the  crown  of 
triumphant  freemen;  its  unfilled  niches  and  perpetually 
growing  splendor  foretell  the  grandeur  of  its  final  consum- 
mation. Remembering  this,  with  what  serious  thought  and 
care  should  this  great  national  work  progress. x 

"  The  hand  that  rounded  Peter's  dome, 
And  groined  the  aisles  of  ancient  Rome, 
Wrought  with  a  sad  sincerity." 

Let  no  mediocre  artist,  no  insincere  spirit,  assume  to  dec- 
orate a  building  in  whose  walls  and  ornaments  a  great 
nation  will  embody  and  perpetuate  its  most  precious  history. 
The  brain  that  designs,  the  hand  that  executes  for  the  Capi- 
tol, works  not  for  to-day,  but  for  all  time. 


CHAPTEK  Y. 

A  TOUR  INSIDE  AND   OUTSIDE  THE  CAPITOL  —  INTEREST- 
ING SIGHTS  AND  SCENES  —  UNDER  THE  GREAT 
DOME  — A  PARADISE  FOR  VISITORS. 

Entering  the  Capitol  Grounds  —  Inside  the  Capitol  —  Bridal  Pairs  in 
Washington  —  Where  Do  They  Come  From  ?  —  Underneath  the  Capi- 
tol—  Using  the  Capitol  as  a  Bakery  —  Turning  Out  16,000  Loaves  of 
Bread  Daily  —  Marble  Staircases  and  Luxurious  Furniture  —  In  the 
Senate  Chamber  and  House  of  Representatives  —  Costly  Paintings. 
Bronzes  and  Statues  —  In  the  Rotunda  —  Under  the  Great  Dome  — 
In  Statuary  Hall  —  Famous  Statues  and  Works  of  Art — "Brother 
Jonathan  "  —  The  Famous  Marble  Clock  —  The  Scene  of  Fierce  and 
Bitter  Wrangles  —  Where  John  Quincy  Adams  Was  Stricken  —  The 
Bronze  Clock  Whose  Hands  Are  Turned  Back  —  Climbing  to  the  Top 
of  the  Mighty  Dome  —  Looking  Down  on  the  Floor  of  the  Rotunda 
—  Under  the  Lantern  — At  the  Tip-top  of  the  Capitol. 

all  the  broad  land  there  is  no  spectacle  so 
bright,  so  inspiring  as  the  gleaming  Capitol  on  a 
June  day.  The  crocuses  and  violets  that  dotted 
the  green  slopes  of  the  Capitol  grounds  a  few 
weeks  ago  are  gone,  and  the  plumed  seeds  of  dande- 
lions are  now  sailing  all  around  us  through  the  deep, 
still  air.  There  is  a  ripple  in  the  grass  that  invites  the 
early  mower.  The  shadows  lie  in  undulating  outlines  un- 
derneath the  old  trees  which  throw  their  graceful  branches 
against  a  sky  of  purest  azure,  and  on  the  easy  seats  sit 
black  and  white,  old  and  young,  taking  rest.  There  is  that 
in  this  new  bloom  so  tender,  so  unsullied,  which  makes 
politicians  appear  paltry,  and  all  their  outcry  a  mockery 
and  an  impertinence.  The  long  summer  wave  in  the  June 
grass ;  the  low,  swaying  boughs,  with  their  deep  mysterious 
6  (83) 


84  WASHINGTON   IN  JUNE. 

murmur  that  seems  instinct  with  human  pleading;  the 
tender  plaint  of  infant  leaves ;  the  music  of  birds ;  the  depth 
of  sky ;  the  balm,  the  bloom,  the  virginity,  the  peace,  the 
consciousness  of  life,  new,  yet  illimitable,  all  are  here. 

The  grounds  include  fifty-eight  and  one-half  acres,  and 
each  year  they  become  more  and  more  beautiful.  We  cross 
these  lovely  grounds  and  enter  the  Capitol  on  the  East 
front,  passing  Crawford's  famous  group  over  the  Senate 
portico  representing  American  Progress,  for  the  models  of 
which,  and  for  those  of  Justice  and  History  above  the 
bronze  doors  of  the  Senate  Wing,  he  received  $17,000,  the 
cutting  of  the  marble  by  various  Italian  workmen  costing 
over  $26,000  more.  So  many  people  gather  under  the  great 
dome  of  the  Capitol  that  you  wonder  where  they  could  all 
have  come  from.  They  are  not  the  people  who  crowd  and 
hurry  through  the  corridors  in  winter  —  the  claimants,  the 
lobbyists,  the  pleasure-seekers  who  come  to  spend  the  "  sea- 
son" in  Washington.  Nearly  all  are  people  from  the 
country,  many  of  them  brides  and  grooms,  to  whom  the 
only  "season"  on  earth  is  spring  —  the  marriage  season. 
They  seem  to  be  gazing  out  upon  life  through  its  portal 
with  the  same  mingling  of  delight  and  wonder  with  which 
they  gaze  through  the  great  doors  of  the  Capitol  upon  the 
unknown  world  beyond.  Early  summer  always  brings  a 
great  influx  of  bridal  pairs  to  Washington.  Whence  they 
all  come  no  mortal  can  tell ;  but  they  do  come,  and  can 
never  be  mistaken.  Their  clothes  are  as  new  as  the  Spring's. 
The  groom  often  seems  half  to  deprecate  your  sudden 
glance,  as  if,  like  David  Copperfield,  he  was  afraid  you 
thought  him  "very  young."  The  affections  of  the  lovely 
bride  seem  to  be  divided  between  her  new  lord  and  her  new 
clothes.  She  loves  him,  she  is  proud  of  him ;  but  this  new 
suit,  who  but  she  can  tell  its  cost?  What  longing,  what 
privation,  what  patient  toil  has  gone  into  its  mouse-  or  fawn- 
colored  folds ;  for  this  little  bride,  who  regretfully  drags 


THE  CAPITOL  IN  PEACE  AND  WAR.  85 

her  demi-train  through  the  dust  of  the  Rotunda,  is  seldom  a 
rich  man's  daughter.  You  see  them  everywhere  repeated, 
these  two  neophytes  —  in  the  hotel  parlor^  in  the  street  cars, 
in  the  Congressional  galleries. 

It  is  like  passing  from  one  world  into  another,  to  leave 
behind  the  bright,  sunshiny  day  for  the  cool,  dim  halls  of  the 
lower  Capitol.  No  matter  how  fiercely  the  sun  burns  in 
the  heavens,  his  fire  never  penetrates  the  mellow  twilight  of 
these  grand  halls. 

Here,  in  Corinthian  colonnades,  rise  the  mighty  shafts  of 
stone  which  bear  upon  their  tops  the  mightier  mass  of 
marble,  and  which  seem  strong  enough  to  support  the 
world.  In  the  summer  solstice  they  cast  long,  cool  shadows, 
full  of  repose  and  silence.  The  electric  lights'  steady  glow 
sends  long  rays  through  the  dimness  to  light  us  on.  We 
have  struck  below  the  jar  and  tumult  of  life.  The  struggles 
of  a  nation  may  be  going  on  above  our  heads,  yet  so  vast 
and  visionary  are  these  vistas  opening  before  us,  so  deep  the 
calm  which  surrounds  us,  we  seem  far  away  from  the  world 
that  we  have  left,,  in  this  new  world  which  we  have  found. 
In  wandering  on  to  find  our  way  out,  we  are  sure  to  make 
numerous  discoveries  of  unimagined  beauty.  Here  are 
doors  after  doors  in  almost  innumerable  succession,  opening 
into  various  committee-rooms.  During  the  Civil  War  these 
halls  and  committee-rooms  were  used  as  barracks  by  the 
soldiers,  who  barricaded  the  outer  doors  with  barrels  of 
cement  between  the  pillars.  The  basement  galleries  were 
used  as  store-rooms  for  army  provisions ;  and  the  vaults 
were  converted  into  bakeries,  where  16,000  loaves  of  bread 
were  baked  every  day  for  many  months.  Twice  during  the 
first  years  of  the  war,  the  Capitol  was  used  as  a  hospital, 
and  scores  of  the  nation's  defenders  died  there. 

It  would  take  months  to  study  and  to  learn  the  exquisite 
pictures  and  illustrative  paintings  that  adorn  these  panels, 
which  artists  have  taken  years  to  paint.  They  make  a 


86  SOME   OUTWARD   BLEMISHES. 

Department  of  Art  in  themselves,  yet  thousands  who  think 
that  they  know  the  Capitol  well  are  not  aware  of  their 
existence.  The  art  decorations  of  the  Capitol  may  have 
faults,  but  like  the  faults  of  a  friend  they  are  sacred.  It 
bears  blots  upon  its  fair  face,  but  these  can  be  washed  away. 
It  wears  ornaments  vulgar  and  vain,  these  can  be  stripped 
off  and  discarded.  Below  them,  beyond  them  all,  abides  the 
Capitol.  The  surface  blemish  vexes,  the  pretentious  splendor 
offends.  These  are  not  the  Capitol.  We  look  deeper,  we 
look  higher,  to  find  beauty,  to  see  sublimity,  to  see  the  Capi- 
tol, august  and  imperishable ! 

The  four  marble  staircases  leading  to  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber and  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  themselves  alone, 
embody  enough  of  grace  and  magnificence  to  save  the  Capi- 
tol from  cynical  criticism.  We  slip  through  the  Senate 
corridor  to  the  President's  and  Vice-President's  rooms. 
Their  furniture  is  sumptuous,  their  decoration  oppressive. 
Gilding,  frescoes,  arabesques,  glitter  and  glow  above  and 
around.  Luxurious  chairs,  oriental  rugs,  and  lace  curtains 
abound.  Gazing,  one  feels  an  indescribable  desire  to  pluck 
a  few  of  Signor  Brumidi's  red-legged  babies  and  pug-nosed 
cupids  from  their  precarious  perches  on  the  lofty  ceilings, 
and  commit  them  to  anybody  who  will  smooth  out  their 
rumpled  little  legs  and  make  them  look  comfortable.  Here 
in  the  President's  room  the  President  sometimes  sits  during 
the  last  day  of  a  congressional  session,  in  order  to  be  ready 
to  sign  bills  requiring  his  immediate  signature.  Here  in  the 
room  of  the  Yice-President  is  a  marble  bust  of  Yice-Presi- 
dent  Henry  S.  Wilson,  whose  death  occurred  in  this  room, 
November  22,  1875.  Upon  its  eastern  wall  hangs  Rem- 
brandt Peale's  portrait  of  Washington,  probably  the  best 
portrait  of  him  in  possession  of  the  government. 

Let  us  pass  to  the  Marble  Room,  which  alone,  of  all  the 
rooms  of  the  Capitol,  suggests  repose  — 

The  end  of  all,  the  poppied  sleep." 


IN   THfc   SENATE   CHAMBER.  8? 

Its  atmosphere  is  soft,  serene,  and  silent.  Its  ceiling  is 
of  white  marble,  deeply  paneled,  supported  by  fluted  pillars 
of  polished  Italian  marble.  Its  walls  are  of  the  exquisite 
marble  of  Tennessee  —  a  soft  brown,  veined  with  white  — 
set  with  mirrors.  One  whose  esthetic  eyes  have  studied  the 
finest  apartments  of  the  world  says  that  to  him  the  most 
chaste  and  purely  beautiful  of  all  is  the  Marble  Room  of 
the  American  Capitol. 

Crossing  the  lobby,  through  doors  of  choice  mahogany, 
we  enter  the  Senate  Chamber.  It  cannot  boast  of  the 
ampler  proportions  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The 
ceiling  is  of  cast-iron,  paneled  with  stained  glass  —  each 
pane  bearing  the  arms  of  the  different  States,  bound  by 
most  ornate  mouldings,  bronzed  and  gilded.  The  gallery, 
which  entirely  surrounds  the  hall,  will  seat  a  thousand  per- 
sons. Over  the  Vice-President's  chair,  the  section  separated 
from  the  rest  by  a  net-work  of  wire,  is  the  reporters'  gal- 
lery. The  one  opposite  is  the  gallery  of  the  diplomatic 
corps ;  next  are  the  seats  reserved  for  the  Senators'  families. 
The  Senators  sit  in  semi-circular  rows,  behind  quaint  desks 
of  polished  mahogany,  facing  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate, 
his  assistants,  and  the  Yice-President.  A  Senator  retains 
his  desk  only  during  a  single  Congress,  drawing  lots  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  session  for  a  choice  of  seats  —  the 
Republicans  sitting  at  the  left  and  Democrats  at  the  right 
of  the  presiding  officer.  The  President  of  the  Senate  is  the 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  He  sits  upon  a  dais, 
raised  above  all,  within  an  arched  niche  and  behind  a  broad 
desk.  His  high- backed  chair  of  carved  mahogany  was  a 
gift  to  the  late  Vice-President  Hobart. 

We  leave  the  Senate  Chamber  by  the  western  staircase. 
Here  in  the  niche  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase,  corresponding 
to  Franklin's  on  the  opposite  side,  stands  Dr.  Horatio  Stone's 
noble  figure  of  John  Hancock,  he  whose  name  is  first  in  the 
list  of  signatures  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 


NORTH    FRONT 


INOHd    HinOS 


PRINCIPAL  STORY  OF  THE  CAPITOL.  89 

pedestal  is  inscribed :  "  He  wrote  his  name  where  all  nations 
should  behold  it,  and  all  time  should  not  efface  it."  The 
statue  was  sculptured  in  1861,  and  $5,500  was  paid  for  it. 
The  stairs  are  of  polished  white  marble,  and  the  painting 
above  them,  in  its  setting  of  maroon  cloth,  represents  the 
"  Storming  of  Chepultepec "  in  all  the  ardor  of  its  fiery 
action.  For  this  painting  $6,137.00  was  paid.  We  saunter 
on  along  the  breezy  corridors  whose  doors  admit  to  the 
Senate  galleries.  Through  open  windows  we  catch  delight- 
ful glimpses  of  the  garden  city,  the  sheen  of  the  gliding 
river,  and  the  distant  hills  beyond.  In  an  adjoining  hall  is 


KEY  TO  THE  PRINCIPAL   STORY  OP    THE  CAPITOL. 

The  diagram  printed  on  the  opposite  page  was  reproduced  from  the 
government  plan.  All  the  rooms  now  occupied  are  numbered,  and  are 
devoted  to  the  following  uses  : 

HOUSE  WING.  27.    The  Vice-President's  room. 

1.  j   .  ...  28.    Committee  on  Finance. 

I  Appropriations. 


2 

3.  Committee  on  Rivers  and  Harbors.  30.     Public  reception  room. 

4.  Journal,  printing,  and  file  clerks  of  the  31.    Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia. 

House.  32.    Office  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of   the 
5.'    Committee  on  Naval  Affairs.  Senate. 

6.    Closets.  33.    Elevator. 

7-j 

8.  V  Members'  retiring  room.  MAIN  BUILDING. 

33.    House  document  room. 

10.    Speaker's  room.  34     Engrossing  and  enrolling  clerks  of  the 

12.  Cloakrooms.  House 

13.  Office  of  the   Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  35     Committee  on  Enrolled  Bills. 

House.  36.    Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Repre- 

14.  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means.  sentatives.     It  was  in  this  room  that 

15.  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams  died, 

16.  House  Library.  two  dayg  after  he  fen  at  nig  geat  in  the 

17.  Elevators.  House,  February  23,  1848. 

SENATE  WING.  37.    Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

16.  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate.  38-    Robing  room  of  the  Judges  of  the  Su- 

17.  Executive  Clerk  of  the  Senate.  preme  Court. 

18.  Financial  Clerk  of  the  Senate.  39-    Withdrawing-room  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

19.  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Senate.  40-    office  of   the  Marshal  of   the  Supreme 

20.  Engrossing  and  enrolling  clerks  of  the  Court. 

Senate.  Tne  Supreme  Court,  formerly  the  Senate 

f2  j.  Committee  on  Appropriations.  TteSdHdJ  of  the  House  of  Represents 

23.  Closets.  tives  is  now  used  as  a  statuary  hall,  to 

24.  Cloakrooms.  which  each  State  has  been  invited  to 

25.  Room  of  the  President  contribute  two  statues  of  its  most  dis 

26.  The  Senators'  reception  room.  tinguished  citizens. 


90  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  IRONCLADS. 

a  painting  representing  the  battle  between  the  ironclads, 
the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac,  purchased  in  1877  for  $7,- 
500.  The  artist  is  said  to  have  interviewed  in  person  or  by 
letter  some  five  hundred  eye-witnesses  of  the  fight,  and  con- 
sequently this  is  probably  the  most  correct  representation 
of  the  battle  in  existence.  This  picture  is  the  only  excep- 
tion to  the  rule  that  no  reminder  of  the  Civil  War  shall  bo 
placed  in  the  Capitol,  an  exception  due  to  the  fact  that  this 
was  in  reality  a  drawn  battle,  where  the  courage  on  both 
sides  was  equal,  and  when  naval  methods  of  the  world  were 
revolutionized. 

Outside  the  Senate  Chamber,  beyond  the  staircase,  is  a 
vestibule  which  opens  upon  the  eastern  portico  through  the 
Senate  bronze  doors,  designed  by  Thomas  Crawford.  The 
workmanship  is  not  considered  as  fine  as  is  that  of  the 
famous  Rogers  door.  Crawford  received  $6,000  for  the 
designs,  while  the  casting  and  other  expenses  brought  the 
total  cost  up  to  $56,495.  In  the  East  Corridor  may  be  seen 
the  famous  gilt  mirror  which  Yice-President  John  Adams 
innocently  purchased  for  the  room  at  a  cost  of  $36.00.  The 
purchase  was  regarded  as  a  piece  of  reckless  extravagance, 
and  three  days  were  spent  by  Congress  in  stormy  and  acri- 
monious debate  and  much  eloquent  denunciation  of  the  pur- 
chase, before  the  bill  was  ordered  paid. 

Passing  by  the  Supreme  Court  Room  we  enter  the  great 
Rotunda,  which  is  ninety-five  feet  in  diameter,  300  feet  in 
circumference  and  over  180  feet  in  height.  Its  magnificent 
dome  is  one  of  the  most  finished  specimens  of  iron  archi- 
tecture in  the  world.  The  panels  of  the  Rotunda  are 
adorned  with  paintings  of  life-size,  painted  by  Trumbull 
and  others.  Colonel  John  Trumbull  was  son  of  Gov.  Jona- 
than Trumbull  of  Connecticut,  the  original  "  Brother  Jona- 
than." The  young  officer  was  aid  and  military  secretary  to 
Gen.  Washington,  and  "  having  a  natural  taste  for  draw- 
ing," he,  after  the  war,  studied  in  this  country  and  in 


TRUMBULL'S  HISTORIC  PAINTINGS.  91 

Europe  and  conceived  an  ambition  to  produce  a  series  of 
national  paintings,  depicting  the  principal  events  of  the 
Revolution,  in  which  each  face  should  be  painted  from  life, 
so  far  as  sittings  could  be  obtained,  while  others  were  to  be 
copied  from  approved  portraits.  He  painted  Adams,  then 
Minister  to  England,  in  London,  and  Jefferson,  in  Paris. 
He  was  given  sittings  by  Washington,  and  traveled  from 
New  Hampshire  to  South  Carolina,  collecting  portraits  and 
other  material.  In  1816,  after  more  than  thirty  years  of 
preparation,  he  was  commissioned  by  Congress  to  paint  the 
four  great  pictures  in  the  Rotunda.  They  are  "  Signing  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,"  "  Surrender  of  General  Bur- 
goyne  at  Saratoga,"  "  Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown,"  and  "  The  Resignation  of  Washington."  For 
these  paintings  Trumbull  received  $32,000  —  a  large  sum  in 
those  days. 

Numerous  other  paintings  adorn  the  walls,  among  them 
the  "  Baptism  of  Pocahontas,"  the  "  Landing  of  Columbus," 
and  the  "  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi."  Like  most  works 
of  genius,  these  paintings  have  many  merits  and  many 
defects.  Perhaps  the  favorite  of  all  is  the  "Embarkation 
of  the  Pilgrims"  on  the  unseaworthy  "Speedwell "  at  Delft 
Haven  for  America.  It  depicts  the  farewell  service  on 
board.  Its  figures  and  the  fabrics  of  its  costumes  are  won- 
derfully painted ;  so,  too,  is  the  face  of  the  hoary  Pilgrim 
who  is  offering  a  fervent  petition  to  God  for  their  safe  pass- 
age across  stormy  seas  to  the  land  of  deliverance ;  but  the 
enchantment  of  the  picture  is  the  face  of  Rose  Standish.  In 
those  eyes,  blue  as  heaven  and  as  true,  are  seen  only  purity, 
faith,  devotion,  tenderness,  and  unutterable  love. 

The  group  in  bas-relief  over  the  western  entrance  of 
the  Rotunda  represents  "Pocahontas  Saving  the  Life  of 
Captain  John  Smith."  The  idea  is  national,  but  the  execu- 
tion is  preposterous.  Powhatan  looks  like  an  Englishman, 
and  Pocahontas  has  a  Greek  face  and  a  Grecian  head-dress, 


92  STATUES  OF  HEROES  AND  STATESMEN. 

The  alto-relievo  over  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  Rotunda 
represents  the  "Landing  of  the  Pilgrims."  The  Pilgrim, 
his  wife  and  child,  are  stepping  from  the  prow  of  the  boat 
to  receive  from  the  hand  of  an  Indian,  kneeling  on  the  rock 
before  them,  an  ear  of  corn. 

Over  the  south  door  of  the  Rotunda  we  have  "  Daniel 
Boone  in  Conflict  with  the  Indians  "  in  a  forest.  Boone  has 
dispatched  one  Indian  and  is  in  close  battle  with  the  other. 
It  commemorates  an  occurrence  which  took  place  in  the 
year  1773.  Over  the  northern  door  of  the  Rotunda  we 
have  "William  Penn  standing  under  an  elm,  in  the  act  of 
presenting  a  treaty  to  the  Indians. 

In  the  Rotunda  are  statues  of  men  whom  patriotism  and 
death  have  made  illustrious  and  immortal.  The  statue  of 
Col.  E.  D.  Baker,  of  Illinois,  was  executed  by  Horatio 
Stone,  in  Rome,  in  1862.  "While  other  statues  stand  forth 
in  heroic  size,  that  of  Baker  is  under  that  of  life,  and  barely 
suggests  the  grand  proportions  of  the  man.  Yet  the  dig- 
nity and  grandeur  of  his  mien  are  here,  as  he  stands  wrap- 
ped in  his  cloak,  his  arms  folded,  his  head  thrown  back,  his 
noble  face  lifted  as  if  he  saw  the  future  —  his  future  —  and 
awaited  it  undaunted  and  with  a  joyful  heart.  Amid  all 
the  orators  of  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War,  no  voice 
uttered  such  burning  words  as  that  of  Baker  —  he  who  left 
the  seat  of  a  senator  for  the  grave  of  a  soldier. 

Congress  voted  ten  thousand  dollars  to  Horatio  Stone, 
then  in  Rome,  to  execute  the  noble  and  beautiful  statue  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  which  stands  in  the  Rotunda.  No 
painted  portrait  could  give  to  posterity  so  grand  an  idea  of 
the  great  Federalist.  It  is  eight  feet  high  and  represents 
Hamilton  in  the  attitude  of  impassioned  speech.  The  exe 
cution  of  the  statue  is  exquisite,  while  in  pose  and  expres- 
sion it  is  the  embodiment  of  majesty  and  power.  Burr  — 
who  presided  over  the  Senate,  who  with  the  pride,  subtlety, 
and  ambition  of  Lucifer  planned  and  executed  to  live  in  the 


CRAWFORD'S  FAMOUS  BRONZES.  93 

future  amid  the  most  exalted  names  of  his  time  —  sleeps  dis- 
honored and  accursed;  while  the  great  rival  whom  he 
hated,  whose  success  he  could  not  endure,  whose  life  he 
destroyed,  comes  back  in  this  majestic  semblance  to  abide 
for  all  time  in  the  Nation's  Capitol.  Thus  we  behold  in 
this  statue  not  only  a  "  triumph  of  art "  but  also  a  triumph 
of  that  final  retributive  compensation  of  justice  which 
sooner  or  later  avenges  every  wrong. 

In  the  Eotunda  is  a  notable  statue  of  General  Grant  and  a 
magnificent  bronze  statue  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Here  also 
is  Mrs.  Yinnie  Eeam  Hoxie's  statue  of  Lincoln,  the  first  glance 
at  which  is  the  most  satisfactory  that  you  will  ever  have. 

No  sculptor  has  left  more  lasting  evidence  of  his  genius 
in  the  decorations  of  the  Capitol  than  Thomas  Crawford,  a 
bust  of  whom  now  adorns  the  Eotunda.  Stricken  with  an 
incurable  malady  in  the  fullness  of  his  powers,  mai  y  of  his 
great  works  were  left  unfinished ;  but  he  would  need  no 
other  title  to  fame  than  the  great  Goddess  of  Liberty 
crowning  the  dome,  the  tympanum  of  the  Senate  portico, 
and  the  Senate  bronze  doors. 

We  pass  from  the  Eotunda  into  one  of  the  noblest  rooms 
of  the  Capitol,  the  old  Hall  of  Eepresentatives,  which  when 
first  completed  was  regarded  as  "  the  most  elegant  legisla- 
tive hall  in  the  world."  Much  care  was  taken  in  its  con- 
struction. Above  the  handsome  colonnade  of  Potomac 
marble  on  the  south  side  rises  an  immense  arch,  in  the 
center  of  which  is  the  statue  of  Liberty,  with  an  altar  at  the 
right  and  an  eagle  at  the  feet  of  the  goddess.  Under  this 
statue  in  the  frieze  of  the  entablature  is  a  spread  eagle 
carved  in  stone  by  Yalperti,  an  Italian.  The  curious  atti- 
tude of  the  national  bird  gave  rise  to  much  adverse  criti- 
cism, and  Valperti  was  so  grieved  because  its  resemblance 
to  a  turkey  buzzard  was  so  often  noted  that  he  drowned 
himself  in  the  Potomac,  leaving  this  eagle  as  his  Only  work 
in  America. 


94  THE  HALL  OF  NATIONAL  AET. 

It  was  a  happy  thought  which  dedicated  the  old  Hall  of 
Representatives  to  national  art.  The  late  Senator  Justin  S. 
Morrill,  then  a  Representative  from  Vermont,  first  made 
the  suggestion,  which  was  followed  in  1864  by  an  invitation 
from  Congress  to  each  State  to  send  marble  or  bronze  stat- 
ues of  two  of  her  most  illustrious  sons  for  permanent  preser- 
vation. Many  States  have  responded,  and  some  of  the  stat- 
ues are  of  a  high  order  of  merit. 

The  first  effect  as  we  enter  Statuary  Hall  and  glance  at 
these  white,  silent  figures  ranged  regularly  about,  is  pecul- 
iar, a  feeling  mainly  due  to  the  varying  size  of  the  statues, 
some  being  of  heroic  dimensions,  others  of  ordinary  size, 
and  some  less  than  life  size.  All  these  men  did  something 
to  make  them  remembered  by  a  patriotic  and  grateful 
country ;  but  some  were  heroes  of  the  nation,  others  were 
prominent  chiefly  in  their  own  States.  Curiously  enough, 
most  of  the  local  statesmen  appear  in  heroic  size  and  many 
of  the  great  national  heroes  in  ordinary  size.  For  instance, 
here  are  the  statues  of  Benton  and  Blair  of  Missouri,  Cass 
of  Michigan,  Morton  of  Indiana,  Allen  of  Ohio,  all  good 
men  who  lived  noble  lives  and  performed  good  deeds  for 
their  country,  towering  like  giants  above  Houdon's  Wash- 
ington and  Conrad's  Webster.  A  serious  mistake  was  made 
when  provision  was  neglected  for  making  all  these  statues 
of  uniform  size.  In  studying  them  we  need  to  dismiss  all 
thought  of  comparison,  to  forget  when  examining  one  that 
we  have  ever  seen  another,  and  to  lose  ourselves  completely 
for  the  time  in  the  one  we  behold.  Only  in  this  way  may 
we  catch  the  real  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  artist.  We  can 
admire  the  animation  chiseled  into  the  figure  of  General 
Muhlenberg,  the  pious  statesmanship  revealed  in  Green- 
ough's  Winthrop,  and  the  majestic  intellectuality  in  Con- 
rad's Webster,  even  though  the  sculptured  forms  of  lesser 
men  rise  conspicuously  above  them. 

In  studying  the  statue  of  Muhlenberg,  we  recall  his  sub- 


OF  LIBERT?.  9? 

lime  patriotism  when,  on  the  Sunday  following  the  battle  of 
Lexington,  after  preaching  a  sermon  to  his  congregation, 
he  suddenly  threw  off  the  robes  of  the  minister,  and  stepped 
forth  in  the  uniform  of  the  soldier,  as  he  uttered  these 
words :  "  There  is  a  time  for  all  things  —  a  time  to  preach 
and  a  time  to  fight  —  and  now  is  the  time  to  fight."  He 
organized  a  company  of  troops  from  among  his  congrega- 
tion, joined  Washington's  army,  became  a  general,  and  was 
present  at  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  dress  that  marked  different 
periods  in  our  nation's  growth  as  exhibited  in  these  statues. 
There  is  a  charm  in  the  quaint  costume  of  colonial  and  rev- 
olutionary heroes,  which  is  wanting  in  the  dress  of  men  of 
later  times.  It  is  refreshing  to  turn  from  the  stove-pipe 
hats,  shingled  heads,  and  angular  garments  in  which  the 
men  of  our  generation  do  penance,  to  the  flowing  locks, 
puckered  knee-breeches  and  ample  ruffs  in  which  Eoger 
Williams  represents  his  name  and  time.  He  holds  a  book  in. 
his  hand,  on  whose  cover  is  inscribed  the  words  "  Soul  Lib- 
erty," and  with  free,  uplifted  glance  and  spirited  pose  seems 
about  to  step  forward  while  his  lips  appear  ready  to  open 
with  words  of  inspiration. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  statues  is  that  of  Marquette, 
the  missionary  explorer,  here  represented  in  his  flowing 
priestly  robes.  Here  too  is  Ethan  Allen,  the  hero  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  one  can  imagine  him  standing  at  the  head  of 
his  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  demanding  the  surrender  of 
the  fort  "  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Con- 
gress." Connecticut's  contribution  —  the  statues  of  Jona- 
than Trumbull  and  Roger  Sherman  —  are  of  heroic  size,  and 
at  first  glance  are  most  imposing,  but  the  good  impression  is 
not  abiding.  Jonathan  Trumbull  was  Governor  of  the  CoL 
ony  of  Connecticut,  and  first  Governor  of  the  State.  An 
influential  leader  in  the  Revolution,  fertile  in  resources,  he 
was  a  very  close  friend  of  Washington,  who  "  relied  upon 


98  OTHER  NOTEWORTHY  STATUES. 

him  as  one  of  his  main  pillars  of  support " ;  and  because  of 
his  great  services  in  providing  the  sinews  of  war  he  gave 
him  the  name  "  Brother  Jonathan,"  used  ever  since  as  the 
nickname  of  the  United  States. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  of  the  group  is  a  plaster  cast, 
mounted  high  on  a  wooden  block,  of  Houdon's  life-size  statue 
of  Washington.  Jean  Antoine  Houdon  was  a  French 
sculptor,  educated  in  Paris  and  Rome.  He  was  employed 
by  the  State  of  Yirginia  to  make  a  .statue  of  Washington, 
and  in  1785  he  accompanied  Franklin  to  America  and 
resided  for  several  weeks  with  Washington's  family  at 
Mount  Yernon.  While  there  he  studied  his  subject,  made  a 
cast  of  Washington's  face,  and  subsequently  sculptured  in 
Italy  the  original  statue  now  in  the  Capitol  at  Richmond. 
It  is  the  most  faithful  portrait  in  existence  of  Washington 
in  his  later  years,  and  Lafayette  pronounced  it  the  best  rep- 
resentation of  Washington  ever  made.  The  fact  that  no 
other  statue  of  him  was  ever  made  from  life  renders  this 
work  especially  interesting  and  valuable. 

Among  other  notable  statues  may  be  mentioned  that  of 
President  James  A.  Garfield,  Ohio;  Gen.  Philip  Kearney, 
New  Jersey;  Samuel  Adams,  Massachusetts;  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  New  York ;  Gen.  John  Stark,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  others  of  nearly  or  quite  equal  fame,  albeit  these 
memorial  marbles  and  bronzes  are  of  very  unequal  merit. 

Over  the  main  entrance  to  Statuary  Hall,  and  opposite 
the  former  position  of  the  Speaker's  desk,  still  stands  the 
famous  clock  carved  from  a  solid  piece  of  marble,  which  has 
for  its  theme  the  Flight  of  Time.  It  has  for  its  dial  the 
wheel  of  the  winged  chariot  of  Time,  resting  on  a  globe. 
In  this  chariot  stands  a  figure  of  Clio,  the  Muse  who  pre- 
sides over  History,  with  a  scroll  and  pen  in  her  hand, 
recording  passing  events  upon  tablets. 

In  itself  Statuary  Hall  is  the  most  majestic  room  in  the 
Capitol.  Set  apart  to  enshrine  the  sculptured  forms  of  tho 


A  ROOM  OF  MANY  MEMORIES.  99 

illustrious  dead,  its  arches  and  alcoves  are  fraught  with 
their  living  memories.  Here  Clay  presided,  here  Webster 
spoke.  Calhoun,  Randall,  Cass,  the  younger  Adams,  and 
many  others  here  won  reputation  for  statesmanship,  and 
made  the  walls  ring  with  fiery  eloquence.  It  has  been  the 
scene  of  many  fierce  and  bitter  wrangles  over  vexed  ques- 
tions and  displays  of  sectional  feeling.  It  was  here  that 
ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  a  Representative  for 
Massachusetts,  was  prostrated  at  his  desk  by  paralysis, 
resulting  in  his  death  two  days  later.  A  star  set  in  the 
floor  marks  the  position  of  his  desk. 

Statuary  Hall  has  surprising  acoustic  properties.  Curi- 
ous echoes,  whispers  distinct  at  a  distance,  and  ability  to 
hear  what  is  inaudible  to  a  person  at  your  elbow,  are  among 
the  -curiosities  of  sound  observable  at  certain  points. 

We  pass  from  this  noble  room  through  the  open  corri- 
dor directly  into  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  occupies 
the  precise  place  in  the  south  wing  which  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber does  in  the  north  wing.  Like  the  Senate  Qhamber,  the 
light  of  day  comes  to  it  but  dimly  through  the  stained  glass 
roof  overhead.  Like  that,  also,  it  is  entire,  encircled  by  a 
corridor  opening  into  smoking  apartments,  committee  rooms, 
the  Speaker's  room,  etc. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  139  feet  long,  ninety- 
three  feet  wide,  and  thirty-six  feet  in  height,  with  a  gallery 
running  entirely  around  the  Hall  holding  seats  for  2,000 
persons.  Like  the  Senate  Chamber,  the  ceili?  g  is  of  iron 
work,  bronzed,  gilded,  and  paneled  with  glass,  each  pane 
decorated  with  the  arms  of  a  State.  At  the  corners  of 
these  panels  in  gilt  and  bronze  are  rosettes  of  the  cotton 
plant  in  its  various  stages  of  bud  and  blossom.  The  Speak- 
er's desk,  splendid  in  proportion,  is  of  pure  white  marble. 
At  the  Speaker's  left  sits  the  assistant  doorkeeper,  and  the 
sergeant-at-arms  is  within  easy  call.  The  symbol  of  author- 
ity of  the  sergeant-at-arms  is  the  Mace,  which  lies  on  a  mar- 


100  IN  THE   HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

ble  pedestal  at  the  Speaker's  right.  When  it  is  placed  on 
its  pedestal,  it  signifies  that  the'  House  is  in  session  and 
under  the  Speaker's  authority;  when  it  is  placed  on  the 
floor,  that  the  House  is  a  committee  of  the  whole.  The 
Mace  is  a  bundle  of  thirteen  ebony  rods,  fastened  with 
transverse  bands  of  silver.  On  its  top  is  a  silver  globe  on 
which  is  engraved  a  map  of  the  world,  and  this  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  silver  eagle  with  wings  outstretched.  When 
the  sergeant-at-arms  is  executing  the  commands  of  the 
Speaker,  he  bears  aloft  the  Mace  in  his  hands. 

Over  the  main  entrance  is  the  famous  bronze  clock 
whose  hands  are  turned  back  on  the  last  day  of  the  session, 
in  order  that  the  precise  hour  of  adjournment  may  not  be 
marked  by  it  before  the  actual  business  of  the  House  is 
finished. 

The  Speaker's  room,  at  the  rear  of  his  chair  and  across 
the  inner  lobby,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  rooms  in  the 
Capitol.  Its  ornaments  are  not  as  glaring  as  those  of  the 
President's  .and  Yice-President's  rooms,  while  its  mirrors, 
carved  book-cases,  velvet  carpets,  and  chairs,  give  it  a  look 
of  home  comfort  as  well  as  of  luxury.  It  has  a  bright  out- 
look upon  the  eastern  grounds  of  the  Capitol,  and  its  walls 
are  hung  with  portraits  of  every  Speaker  from  the  First 
Congress  to  the  present  one. 

We  pass  through  the  private  corridor  looking  from  the 
Speaker's  room  out  into  the  grand  colonnaded  vestibule 
opening  upon  the  great  portico  of  the  south  extension. 
These  twenty-four  columns  and  forty  pilasters  have  blos- 
somed from  native  soil.  The  models  of  Athens,  Pompeii, 
Rome,  are  departed  from  at  last,  and  their  adornments  are 
distinctively  American.  Looking  up  to  these  flowering 
capitals  we  see  corn-leaves,  tobacco,  and  magnolias  budding 
and  blooming  from  their  marble  crowns.  Every  column, 
every  pilaster  bears  a  magnolia,  each  of  a  different  form,  all 
from  casts  of  the  natural  flower.  And  far  below,  beneath 


•'SIGNING   THE   PROCLAMATION."  101 

the  Representatives'  Hall,  there  is  a  row  of  monolithic  col- 
umns formed  of  the  tobacco  and  thistle.  It  is  above  the 
marble  staircase  opposite,  leading  to  the  ladies'  gallery,  that 
we  see  painted  on  the  wall  the  great  painting  of  Leutze 
entitled  "Westward,  Ho!"  for  which  $20,000:^as  paid,-  It 
represents  the  advance  of  civilization.  Corif'usirig',  ilisap- 
pointing  perhaps,  at  first  glance,  this  painting^asprt^ats^if;  \ 
more  and  more  in  the  soul  the  longer  you  gaze. 

At  the  foot  of  the  eastern  grand  staircase  is  Powers' 
statue  of  Thomas  Jeiferson  which  cost  $10,000.  Over  the 
landing  is  Frank  B.  Carpenter's  painting  "  Signing  of  the 
Proclamation  of  Emancipation,"  painted  at  the  "White 
House  in  1864.  It  represents  President  Lincoln  signing  the 
Proclamation  in  the  presence  of  his  Cabinet,  September  22, 
1862.  It  was  presented  to  Congress  in  1878  by  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Thompson,  who  paid  $25,000  to  the  artist  for  the 
picture.  She  received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  was 
given  the  privilege  of  the  floor  of  the  House  during  any  of 
its  sessions.  Only  one  other  woman  has  been  similarly 
honored,  —  Dolly  Madison,  the  wife  of  President  Madison, 
for  her  distinguished  character  and  patriotic  services. 

We  come  back  to  the  grand  vestibule  of  the  southern 
wing,  and  out  to  the  great  portico  through  one  of  the 
famous  bronze  doors  designed  by  Rogers,  and  cast  in  Mun- 
ich. How  heavy,  slow,  and  still  its  swing!  The  other 
opens  arid  closes  upon  the  central  door  of  the  north  wing, 
leading  to  the  vestibule  of  the  Senate.  Rogers  received 
$8,000  for  his  plaster  models  of  these  doors.  The  casting 
cost  $17,000  in  gold,  when  gold  commanded  a  high  pre- 
mium, and  their  total  cost  to  the  government  was*  $28,500. 
The  doors  are  eighteen  feet  in  height,  nine  feet  in  width, 
and  weigh  ten  tons. 

Here,  on  this  portico,  the  inauguration  of  Presidents  of 
the  United  States  has  taken  place  since  the  time  of  Jackson. 

From  it  we  look  out  upon  the  eastern  grounds  of  the  Capi- 
7 


102  GREENOUGH'S  CLASSIC  WASHINGTON. 

tol  in  the  unsullied  beauty  of  a  June  morning,  across  the 
paved  plaza,  through  the  vistas  of  maples  with  their  green 
arcade  flecked  with  light  and  shadow,  to  the  august  form  of 
Horatio  Greenough's  statue  of  George  "Washington  sitting 
in  the  center,  of  the  grounds  in  a  lofty  Eoman  chair 
mounted  on  a  pedestal  of  granite  twelve  feet  high.  Green- 
eugli -was  sommissioned  by  Congress  to  execute  this  statue, 
the  only  conditions  imposed  being  that  it  should  be  "  a  full 
length  pedestrian  statue,"  and  that  the  countenance  should 
conform  to  that  of  the  Iloudon  statue.  For  this  he  was 
paid  $20,000,  though  he  devoted  the  principal  part  of  his 
time  for  eight  years  to  the  work. 

This  is  the  most  criticised  work  of  art  about  the  Capitol. 
It  is  true  that  a  sense  of  personal  discomfort  seems  to  ema- 
nate from  the  drapery  —  or  lack  of  it  —  and  the  pose  of  this 
colossal  figure.  George  Washington  with  his  right  arm  out- 
stretched, his  left  forever  holding  a  Koman  sword,  half- 
naked,  beneath  bland  summer  skies  and  within  a  veiling 
screen  of  tender  leaves,  is  a  much  more  comfortable-looking 
object  than  when  the  winds  and  rains  beat  upon  his  unshel- 
tered head  and  uncovered  form.  This  statue  was  designed 
in  imitation  of  the  antique  statue  of  Jupiter  Tonans.  The 
ancients  made  their  statues  of  Jupiter  naked  above  and 
draped  below  as  being  visible  to  the  gods  but  invisible  to 
men.  But  the  average  American  citizen,  being  accustomed 
to  seeing  the  Father  of  his  Country  decently  attired,  natur- 
ally receives  a  shock  at  first  beholding  him  in  next  to  no 
clothes  at  all.  It  is  impossible  for  him  to  reconcile  a  Jupi- 
ter in  sandals  with  the  stately  George  Washington  in  knee- 
breeches  and  buckled  shoes.  The  spirit  of  the  statue,  which 
is  ideal,  militates  against  the  spirit  of  the  land,  which  is 
utilitarian,  if  not  commonplace. 

Nevertheless,  in  poetry  of  feeling,  in  grandeur  of  con- 
ception, in  exquisite  fineness  of  detail,  and  in  execution,  it 
is  the  greatest  work  in  marble  yet  wrought  at  the  command 


HOW  THE  STATUE   CAME  TO   AMERICA.  103 

of  the  government  for  the  Capitol.  It  is  scarcely  human, 
certainly  not  American,  but  it  is  god-like.  The  face  is  a 
perfect  portrait  of  Washington.  The  veining  of  a  single 
hand,  the  muscles  of  a  single  arm,  are  triumphs  of  art. 
While  it  is  the  masterpiece  of  a  master,  it  has  called  forth 
more  ridicule,  and  been  the  subject  of  more  rude  and  vulgar 
jests  than  any  other  piece  of  American  sculpture. 

The  statue  weighs  nearly  twenty-one  tons,  and  was 
sculptured  in  Florence.  In  1840  Commodore  Hull  was  sent 
with  a  vessel  of  war  to  bring  it  to  the  United  States,  but 
when  he  found  it  would  be  necessary  to  rip  up  the  decks  of 
his  vessel  in  order  to  place  the  colossal  statue  in  the  hold, 
he  protested.  A  merchantman  was  therefore  chartered  for 
the  purpose,  her  hatches  enlarged,  and  the  vessel  otherwise 
changed  in  order  to  receive  the  statue.  Upon  its  arrival  at 
the  Capitol  in  1841,  the  doors  of  the  building  were  found  to 
be  too  small  to  admit  it,  and  the  masonry  had  to  be  cut 
away  before  the  statue  could  be  gotten  inside.  It  was  sub- 
sequently removed  from  the  Rotunda  to  its  present  position 
in  the  grounds,  facing  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol.  The 
statue  has  cost  the  government,  including  the  sum  paid  to 
Greenough  and  the  amounts  paid  for  work  and  materials, 
the  cost  of  transportation  from  Italy,  and  the  removal  from 
the  Rotunda  to  its  present  site,  $42,170.74. 

In  the  center  of  the  Capitol,  on  the  ground  floor,  directly 
under  the  great  dome,  is  a  large  circular  chamber  known  as 
the  crypt.  In  the  center  of  the  floor  is  a  marble  star,  which 
is,  theoretically,  the  center  of  the  city  of  Washington,  as 
originally  laid  out  in  L'Enfant's  plan.  Beneath  the  star,  in 
the  center  of  the  crypt,  is  a  tomb  known  as  the  "  Washing- 
ton Tomb."  In  1799  Congress  passed  a  resolution  that  a 
marble  statue  of  General  Washington  be  erected  in  the 
Capitol,  and  that  the  family  of  General  Washington  be  re- 
quested to  permit  his  body  to  be  deposited  under  it.  Many 
resolutions  were  subsequently  offered,  and  much  correspond- 


104  MRS.  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER. 

ence  carried  on  regarding  the  ceremonies  of  removing  his 
remains  from  Mount  Yernon,  and  a  tomb  at  the  Capitol  was 
made  ready.  The  following  is  a  correct  copy  of  one  of 
these  resolutions: 

"  That  the  remains  of  General  George  Washington  be  removed,  with 
suitable  funeral  honors,  from  the  family  vault  at  Mount  Vernon,  conducted 
under  the  direction  of  a  joint  committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  on 

the day  of  December  next,  and  entombed  in  the  national  sepulchre  to 

be  prepared  for  that  purpose  under  the  centre  dome  of  the  Capitol  in  the 
City  of  Washington." 

A  copy  of  the  resolution  was  transmitted  by  John 
Adams  to  Martha  Washington,  who  sent  the  following 

replv : 

"Mx.  VERNON,  Dec.  31,  1799. 
"Sin: 

•  "While  I  feel,  with  keenest  anguish,  the  late  dispensation  of  Divine 
Providence,  I  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  mournful  tributes  of  respect  and 
veneration  which  are  paid  to  the  memory  of  my  dear  deceased  husband  ; 
and  as  his  best  services  and  most  anxious  wishes  were  always  devoted  to 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  his  country,  to  know  that  they  were  truly 
appreciated,  and  gratefully  remembered,  affords  me  no  inconsiderable 
consolation. 

"  Taught  by  that  great  example  which  I  have  so  long  had  before  me 
never  to  oppose  my  private  wishes  to  the  public  will,  I  must  consent  to 
the  request  made  by  Congress,  which  you  have  had  the  goodness  to  trans- 
mit to  me ;  and,  in  doing  this,  I  need  not,  I  cannot  say,  what  a  sacrifice  of 
individual  feeling  I  make  to  a  sense  of  public  duty. 

"  With  grateful  acknowledgements,  and  unfeigned  thanks  for  the  per- 
sonal respect  and  evidences  of  condolence  expressed  by  Congress  and  your- 
self, I  remain,  very  respectfully,  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

•    ' '  MARTHA  WASHINGTON.  " 

Nothing  was  done,  however,  and  in  1832  John  A.  Wash- 
ington, who  was  then  the  owner  of  Mount  Yernon,  declined 
the  request  made  by  Congress.  When  General  Grant  died 
the  question  of  honoring  him  with  a  final  resting-place  in 
the  "  Washington  Tomb "  was  discussed,  but  the  family 
were  averse  to  the  plan.  The  tomb  in  the  Capitol  is  still 
vacant  except  for  the  simple  bier  of  boards  covered  with 


A  BIRDS-EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  CITY.  107 

black  cloth  which  was  used  to  support  the  remains  of  -Lin- 
coln, and  which  has  been  used  for  each  citizen  laid  in  state 
at  the  Capitol  since  that  day. 

From  the  Rotunda  we  turn  westward  to  the^lofty  colon- 
nade outside,  from  whose  balcony  we  look  down  upon  the 
view  which  Humboldt  declared  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of 
its  type  in  the  whole  world.  Directly  below  us,  past  the 
wBstern  terrace  of  the  Capitol,  stretch  the  western  Capitol 
grounds.  These  marble  terraces  and  their  ornamental  ap- 
proaches cost  $200,000.  Many  varieties  of  trees  grown  to 
forest  height  spread  their  interlacing  boughs  to  form  a  roof 
of  cool,  green  shadow 'over  the  sward  below,  which  is  dotted 
over  with  the  golden  dandelions  in  early  May.  Broad 
flights  of  stairs,  parting  right  and  left  around  a  fountain, 
lead  down  a  lower  terrace,  in  the  center  of  which  is  a  bronze 
figure  of  Chief-Justice  John  Marshall,  executed  by  the 
American  sculptor  William  W.  Story  in  Rome  in  1883.  It 
was  presented  to  the  United  States  by  members  of  the  bar, 
and  cost  $4-0,000,  Congress  supplying  the  pedestal. 

He  who  has  not  climbed  the  winding  stairway,  which 
opens  from  the  corridor  near  the  north  door  of  the  Rotunda 
and  leads  by  devious  ways  to  the  top  of  the  mighty  dome, 
has  missed  one  of  the  most  inspiring  features  of  the  Capitol. 
In  the  ascent  one  beholds  the  immense  iron  work  which 
supports  and  makes  the  great  dome.  Part  way  up  the 
stairway  one  may  look  down  upon  the  floor  of  the  Rotunda 
from  the  whispering  gallery  beneath  the  canopy.  A  little 
farther,  and  one  walks  out  upon  the  great  balustrade  sur- 
roundhig  the  base  of  the  dome,  from  which  may  be  seen  the 
whole  panorama  of  the  city  lying  at  his  feet.  Still  a  little 
farther,  one  arrives  at  the  smaller  balustrade  beneath  the 
lantern  which  supports  the  goddess.  The  view  from  the 
top  of  the  Washington  monument  may  be  more  command- 
ing, but  it  does  not  reveal  the  beauties  which  are  thrust 
upon  the  beholder  at  this  dizzy  height,  for  the  city  radia,tes 


108  UNDER  A  GREEN  CANOPY. 

in  all  directions  from  this  point.  The  great  avenues,  like 
the  spokes  of  a  mighty  wheel,  stretch  away  till  lost  in  the 
green  foot  hills.  The  long  avenues  are  marked  by  soft 
clouds  of  gently-swaying  foliage,  for  each  is  doubly  fringed 
with  trees ;  the  whole  city  seems  to  be  smothered  under  a 
beautiful  canopy  of  green,  pierced  here  and  there  by  a  dome 
or  a  steeple  or  a  towering  building.  Looking  directly  down, 
we  see  the  beautiful  grounds  of  the  Capitol,  gracefully 
marked  by  shady  walks  and  drives ;  farther  down  the  west 
lie  the  Botanical  Gardens,  in  the  midst  of  which  glistens 
the  great  Bartholdi  fountain ;  while  to  the  east,  like  a  vision, 
rises  the  Library  of  Congress.  On  the  distant  hill  tops, 
gleaming  through  the  soft  green,  we  behold  the  Soldiers' 
Home,  and  across  the  Potomac,  which  winds  like  a  stream 
of  molten  silver  to  the  south,  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  Arling- 
ton, the  silent  city  of  the  Nation's  dead. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  —  A 
PEEP  BEHIND  THE  SCENES— CLAIMANTS  AND  LOBBY- 
ISTS— HOW  GOVERNMENT  PRIZES  ARE  WON. 

t 

In  the  House  of  Representatives— Scenes  of  Confusion  —  The  Speaker  — 
A  Peep  Behind  the  Scenes—  "  What  Did  They  Do?  "  —  A  Visit  to  the 
Senate— Playing  Marbles  Behind  the  Vice-President's  Chair  —  Secret 
Sessions  — The  Veil  Lifted  — A  Senator's  Amusing  Experience  — 
Some  Revelations  —  How  the  Senate  Works — "Will  Carp  Eat  Gold 
Fish?  "  —  Curious  Requests  —  "  We  Want  a  Baby  "  —  Women  With 
Claims  — Professional  Lobbyists  and  Their  Ways  — Button-holing  Sen- 
ators—  "  Who  are  They? "  —  Importance  of  "Knowing  the  Ropes" — 
Catching  the  Speaker's  Eye  — An  Indignant  Congressman  — Catching 
"  the  Measles,  the  Whooping-Cough,  and  the  Influenza"  —  The  Frank- 
ing Privilege  —  Providing  for  the  "  Comforts"  of  Members  — Shaves, 
Hair-cuts,  and  Baths  at  Uncle  Sam's  Expense  —  Barbers  as  "Skilled 
Laborers  "  —  "  Working  a  Committee." 

| 

jE  have  observed  the  Capitol  as  a  monument  of 

the  people's  history  and  patriotism,  but  to 
know  it  as  it  is,  we  must  see  it  as  the  work- 
shop of  Congress,  and  enter  into  the  spirit  and 
understanding  of  its  manifold  operations.  In  its 
various  and  conflicting  architectural  conceptions  we 
have  noted  both  the  weakness  and  the  strength  of  human 
nature  and  ability;  we  have  yet  to  observe  that  same 
human  nature  in  its  daily  activity  in  both  legislative  halls 
of  the  Congress.  These  grand  paintings,  these  famous 
statues  and  costly  bronzes,  these  wonderful  corridors,  this 
mighty  dome,  all  bring  up  a  past  —  a  history  that  is  made ; 
but  the  life  of  the  Capitol  is  an  affair  always  of  to-day  — 

(109) 


110  THE   HOUSE  IN  SESSION. 

history  which  is  being  made,  and  which  is  ever  running 
back  into  our  glorious  past.  We  can  see  no  halo  about  the 
present ;  that  comes  with  time.  All  this  active,  storming 
life  in  the  great  Capitol  is  the  motion  of  the  mightiest 
engine  of  the  government  —  the  legislative  machine.  There 
is  nothing  in  all  the  world  like  it ;  no  legislative  machine 
that  can  do  and  has  done  so  much. 

Entering  the  Senate  wing  and  beholding  this  machine 
on  one  side,  it  seems  to  be  proceeding  so  calmly,  so  noise- 
lessly and  serenely,  as  to  be  hardly  moving  at  all.  When 
we  visit  the  House  wing  and  view  the  other  side,  we  behold 
such  utter  confusion,  such  an  apparently  woful  lack  of 
attention  to  anything  that  is  going  on  at  any  one  place, 
that  we  are  impressed  at  once  \vith  the  idea  that  something 
dreadful  has  happened  to  the  mechanism.  We  take  a  seat 
in  the  gallery,  which  is  never  empty  when  Congress  is  in 
session,  and  which  is  often  full,  though  people  are  every 
minute  going  out  and  others  coming  in  to  take  their  places. 
The  House  is  in  session.  We  look  down  upon  a  confused 
mass  of  desks  littered  with  books  and  papers,  and  men  who 
are  constantly  walking  about  in  every  direction.  The  deep, 
low  buzz  of  never-ceasing  conversation  rises  and  falls  and 
comes  to  us  from  every  part  of  the  room,  including  the  gal- 
lery. The  few  men  who  may  at  any  one  time  be  seen  at 
their  desks  appear  to  be  absorbed  in  attending  to  a  vast 
private  correspondence.  There  is  an  intermittent  and 
irregular  clapping  of  hands,  like  the  report  of  distant  fire- 
crackers, and  frequent  and  urgent  calls  from  impatient 
members  for  the  pages,  who  are  constantly  running  about, 
lending  life  and  adding  confusion  to  the  scene.  In  the 
background,  behind  the  tall  screens,  we  catch  glimpses  of 
lobbies,  coat-rooms,  and  barber  shops,  where  members  are 
smoking,  laughing,  reading,  telling  stories,  and  lounging 
about.  High  up  behind  the  white  marble  desk  quietly  sits 
the  Speaker  of  the  House,  the  most  powerful  man  in  the 


A  SCENE  OF  CONFUSION. 


Ill 


government  next  to  the  President.  He  appears  to  be  the 
only  serene  and  undisturbed  person  in  the  room.  Just 
below  him  one  of  the  clerks  is  droning  in  a  sing-song  manner 
something  which  nobody  seems  to  hear  or  cares  to  hear. 
At  a  still  lower  desk  are  more  clerks  and  stenographers. 
Far  up  one  of  the  aisles  a  man  suddenly  jumps  to  his  feet 
and  makes  a  violent  but  only  half-audible  speech,  to  which 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE   FLOOR   OF  THE  HOUSE   OF    REPRESENTATIVES. 
D.    Doorkeepers.  S.    Sergeant  at- Anns. 

no  one  listens  except  a  stenographer  who  swiftly  runs  up 
the  aisle  with  note  book  and  pencil  in  hand,  sits  at  a  near-by 
desk  and  takes  down  every  word  as  if  too  precious  to  be 
lost.  Having  made  his  speech,  he  strolls  back  to  the  cloak- 
room and  lights  a  cigar;  the  stenographer  returns  to  his 
chair  and  the  clerk  above  him  continues  his  monotonous 
drone.  The  confusion  increases  and  the  Speaker  strikes  the 
top  of  his  desk  with  a  heavy  mallet,  the  report  ringing  out 
like  the  crack  of  a  rifle.  Comparative  silence  reigns  for  a 
moment,  and  he  follows  up  the  temporary  advantage  thus 
secured  by  remarking:  —  "The  House  Avill  be  in  order." 
He  lapses  back  into  his  unruffled  state  and  the  House  lapses 


112  PASSING   A  BILL. 

back  into  its  hubbub.  After  a  time  there  is  a  slightly  per- 
ceptible unanimity  in  the  getting  up  and  sitting  down  and 
walking  about  of  the  uneasy  crowd,  which  indicates  that  a 
vote  is  being  taken.  Amid  the  confusion,  the  Speaker  again 
brings  his  mallet  down  on  the  top  of  his  desk  and  says :  - 
"  The  ayes  seem  to  have  it,  the  ayes  have  it ; "  and  the 
clerks  appear  to  be  attending  to  the  further  details. 

"What  did  they  do?  "  you  ask. 

Well,  just  then  the  House  voted  to  spend  $224,000,000 
in  round  numbers.  If  you  had  a  copy  of  the  bill  you  would 
see  that  it  contained  about  150  pages  of  closely-printed 
matter  reading  something  like  this  :  — "  For  prevention 
of  deposits  New  York  Harbor,  13  cents  ;  for  maintenance  of 
Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  43  cents ;  for  building  a  bridge 
across  the  Potomac,  $2.03,"  and  so  on,  the  whole  amounting 
to  $224,000,000.  This  particular  vote  happened  to  be  on 
the  General  Deficiency  Bill,  and  these  little  items  are  to 
make  up  deficiencies  in  the  expenditures  which  the  govern- 
ment is  constantly  making  everywhere  in  our  broad  land. 
It  is  to  balance  accounts  for  the  fiscal  year,  and  it  shows 
that  where  a  few  cents  is  required  for  this  purpose,  thou- 
sands and  often  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  are  being  spent. 
The  Appropriations  Committee  is  presumed  to  have  exam- 
ined this  bill ;  it  has  been  read  and  printed,  and  read  again 
and  printed,  and  read  again,  and  now  it  is  passed.  We 
chanced  to  see  the  last  process  of  the  operation. 

Making  our  way  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  gallery  we  find 
ourselves  in  an  entirely  different  atmosphere.  It  is  not 
because  the  men  are  so  very  different,  for  they  are  not. 
Most  of  them  have  been  members  of  the  House  earlier  in 
their  careers.  The  difference  lies  altogether  in  the  way  of 
doing  business  and  in  the  traditions  which  have  come  down 
from  the  First  Congress.  When  Congress  was  sitting  in 
Philadelphia  previous  to  1800,  a  wrriter  in  one  of  the  news- 
papers of  the  day  said  :  —  "  Among  the  senators  is  observed 


TRADITIONS   OF  THE  SENATE.  113 

constantly  during  the  debates  the  most  delightful  silence, 
the  most  beautiful  order,  gravity  and  personal  dignity  of 
manner.  They  all  appear  every  morning  full-powdered  and 
dressed  in  the  richest  material.  The  very  atmosphere  of 
the  chamber  seems  to  inspire  wisdom,  mildness,  condescen- 
sion. Should  any  of  the  senators  so  far  forget  for  a  moment 
as  to  be  the  cause  of  a  protracted  whisper,  while  another 
was  addressing  the  Vice-President,  three  gentle  raps  with 
his  silver  pencil  case  by  Mr.  Adams  immediately  restored 
everything  to  repose  and  the  most  respectful  attention." 

The  dignified  pace  set  by  the  first  senators  has  changed 
but  little.  Then  there  were  but  twenty-six  senators,  and 
now  there  are  ninety,  or  more  than  there  were  in  the  origi- 
nal House  of  Representatives.  Time  has  modified  somewhat 
the  early  dignity  of  the  body,  but  it  is  hardly  perceptible. 
The  bitterness  of  partisan  feeling  seldom  shows  itself  in  the 
calm  and  dignified  serenity  which  is  the  traditional  senato- 
rial demeanor.  There  is  a  slight  moving  about;  senators 
come  in  and  are  called  out,  but  so  quietly  do  they  move  on 
the  soft  carpets  that  no  one  is  disturbed.  Occasionally  there 
is  a  sharp  hand-clap,  and  one  of  the  pages,  all  bright-looking, 
smartly-dressed  youngsters,  trips  lightly  up  to  some  senator 
to  do  his  bidding — to  get  a  book  or  paper  from  his  com- 
mittee room,  or  to  take  a  telegram  to  the  operator  in  the 
corridor.  These  page-boys,  when  disengaged,  are  seated  on 
the  carpeted  steps  to  the  Vice-President's  platform,  and, 
when  there  has  been  nothing  to  distract  them,  they  have 
been  known  to  have  a  quiet  little  game  of  marbles  behind 
the  Yice-President's  chair,  but  in  such  a  silent  and  decorous 
manner  that  the  dignity  of  the  Yice-President  was  not  ruf- 
fled by  a  knowledge  of  it.  Congressmen  who  always  have 
the  privilege  of  coming  on  the  floor  during  open  sessions  of 
the  Senate,  drop  in  often,  especially  if  some  great  debate  is 
on,  but  they  leave  their  house  manners  outside  the  door. 
The  people  in  the  galleries  adapt  themselves  unconsciously 


114 


WHERE  GRAVITY  AND  DECORUM  RULE. 


to  the  calmer  and  higher  atmosphere.  If  they  should  be  so 
rash  as  to  applaud  anything  a  senator  said,  the  gallery 
would  be  cleared.  While  the  Republicans  are  seated  on  one 
side  and  the  Democrats  on  the  other,  it  is  a  common  thing 
to  see  a  senator  of  one  political  persuasion  walk  over  to  the 
seat  of  one  of  the  opposite  faith  and  talk  with  him  with 
every  evidence  of  sincere  good  nature,  and  as  if  there  was 
no  such  thing  as  differences  in  political  belief.  Even  in  the 


SOUTHERN    LOBBY 


THE  MARBLE  ROOM 

DIAGRAM   OF  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  SENATE. 


V.  P.  President  pro  tempore. 

Sec.  Secretary. 

C.  C.  Chief  Clerk. 

L.  C.  Legislative  Clerk. 

R.  C.  Reading  Clerk. 


D.  Doorkeeper  and  Assistants. 

J.  C.  Journal  Clerk. 

R.  Official  Reporters. 

P.  Press  Reporters. 

S.  Sergeant-at-Arms. 


stormy  days  when  Calhoun  was  the  lightning,  Webster  the 
thunder,  and  Clay  the  rainbow  of  the  Senate,  and  in  those 
still  more  tempestuous  days  just  preceding  the  Civil  War, 
there  were  few  occasions  when  senatorial  courtesy  was 
damaged  by  passionate  outbursts  of  feeling. 

The  greatest  change  that  has  been  brought  about  is  ID 


SECRET    SESSIONS  OF  THE   SENATE.  115 

the  apparent  lack  of  attention  given  to  speakers.  It  often 
happens  in  the  long  discussion  of  some  important  matter  on 
which  many  senators  make  lengthy  speeches  that  the 
audience  is  small  and  the  attention  limited,  but  this  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  "  Congressional  Kecord "  brings  out 
in  cold  type  the  next  morning  all  that  is  said,  so  that  a 
senator  can  lose  little  at  such  times  if  he  withdraws  to 
his  committee  room  to  take  up  the  multifarious  matters 
always  demanding  his  attention.  As  one-third  of  the  body 
is  elected  every  two  years,  the  larger  part  is  always  experi- 
enced, the  more  so  as  most  elections  are  re-elections,  and  the 
absolutely  new  members  are  readily  assimilated.  They 
quickly  find  that  nothing  offends  so  much  as  violations 
of  Senate  traditions  of  dignity  and  respect  and  courtesy. 
The  one  unpardonable  sin  in  the  Senate  is  to  be  unsenatorial. 

How  effective  are  these  traditions  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  there  is  not,  as  in  the  House,  any  means  for  limiting  de- 
bate. There  is  no  time  this  side  of  eternity  when  a  senator 
must  stop  talking.  ~No  matter  what  business  interests  may 
hang  upon  the  issue,  the  Senate  can  not  even  act  till  it  has 
unanimous  consent. 

Another  evidence  of  the  rigidity  of  tradition  is  given  in 
the  executive  session.  The  Senate  sat  with  closed  doors  for 
two  sessions,  or  until  1T94,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the 
legislative  sittings  should  be  opened  unless  otherwise 
ordered.  The  secret  sessions  are  no\v  confined  to  executive 
nominations  or  treaties,  and  though  so  mysterious  are  gen- 
erally very  tame  affairs.  One  senator  relates  that  when  he 
first  came  to  Washington,  it  was  as  a  Representative,  and 
when  upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate  one  day,  an  executive  ses- 
sion was  ordered.  The  galleries  were  cleared  and  the  Repre- 
sentative was  courteously  asked  to  retire  with  the  rest.  As 
he  went  out  he  drew  mental  pictures  of  what  sacred  and 
highly  important  affairs  these  secret  sessions  must  be.  A 
few  years  later  he  appeared  as  a  Senator  and  he  anxiously 


116  THE  EXECUTIVE  SESSION. 

awaited  the  moment  when  an  executive  session  should  be 
held.  Finally  one  of  the  venerable  Senators  solemnly 
moved  that  the  Senate  go  into  executive  session.  The  new 
member  assumed  his  gravest  dignity.  The  moment  he  had 
so  long  awaited  had  come.  People  filed  out  of  the  galleries ; 
the  doors  were  closed  and  at  last  the  Senate  was  alone. 
It  was  then  moved  that  Mr.  Somebody  be  confirmed  in 
his  appointment  to  a  post-office  somewhere.  The  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  remarked:  "Without  ob- 
jection it  is  so  ordered."  Then  there  was  a  motion  to 
adjourn  and  another  mysterious  executive  session  was  over. 

The  Senate  would  not  abandon  this  curious  privilege, 
however,  not  because  it  cares  so  much  about  keeping  the 
proceedings  of  an  executive  session  secret,  but  simply  be- 
cause it  is  the  traditional  custom  of  the  Senate.  The 
secrets  of  these  sessions  as  a  matter  of  fact  are  seldom  kept, 
even  when  important.  One  of  the  rules  is  that  "  any  sena- 
tor or  officer  of  the  Senate  who  shall  disclose  the  secret  or 
confidential  business  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Senate,  shall 
be  liable,  if  a  Senator,  to  expulsion  from  the  body,  and  if  an 
officer,  to  dismissal  from  the  service  of  the  Senate  and  to 
punishment  for  contempt."  But  the  secrets  always  leak  out 
and  no  punishment  is  ever  inflicted. 

The  Senate  begins  its  legislative  work  at  noon,  and 
when  that  hour  is  reached  the  gallery  is  generally  filled,  for 
on  days  when  a  debate  or  discussion  of  some  subject  of 
great  public  interest  is  promised,  people  throng  into  the 
galleries  early  in  the  morning,  often  bringing  luncheon  with 
them.  If  they  should  once  surrender  their  seat,  they  might 
not  be  able  to  gain  an  entrance  again  that  day.  The  Yice- 
President  enters  with  the  Chaplain,  who  makes  a  short, 
impressive  prayer,  after  which  comes  much  routine  business, 
communications,  petitions,  memorials,  bills,  and  resolutions. 
These  over,  the  Senate  usually  proceeds  to  its  calendar, 
which  consists  of  measures  reported  from  committees. 


FORMALITIES   OF  THE   SENATE.  117 

Sometimes  this  is  taken  in  order,  but  oftener  measures  are 
taken  from  it  during  the  morning  hour  "by  general 
consent,"  something  which  could  never  •  be  had  in  the 
House.  The  morning  hour  ends  at  two  o'clock,  when  the 
calendar  is  laid  aside  and  the  Senate  proceeds  to  the  con- 
sideration of  what  is  known  as  unfinished  business.  What 
this  shall  be  is  also  a  matter  of  general  consent  —  that  is,  a 
unanimous  agreement  has  been  secured  to  consider  a  certain 
measure  unfinished  business.  It  must  come  up  every  day 
at  two  o'clock  until  it  is  finally  disposed  of. 

Usually  when  the  President  desires  to  communicate 
with  the  Senate,  one  of  his  private  secretaries  presents 
himself  in  the  main  aisle  of  the  Senate  chamber  in  the 
afternoon.  The  presiding  officer,  availing  himself  of  the 
first  pause  in  the  remarks  of  the  Senator  having  the  floor, 
interrupts  him  by  saying:  "The  Senate  will  receive  a 
message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States."  The 
assistant  door-keeper,  making  a  profound  obeisance,  an- 
nounces "A  message  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States,"  and  the  secretary  then  says:  "Mr.  President,  I 
am  instructed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
present  a  message  in  writing."  He  then  bows  and  his 
package  of  manuscript  is  carried  to  the  presiding  officer, 
after  which  the  Senator  whose  remarks  were  interrupted 
resumes  them.  Messages  brought  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  its  clerk  are  received  with  similar 
formalities.  Later  in  the  afternoon,  a  motion  is  generally 
made  that  the  Senate  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  ex- 
ecutive business. 

Such  is  the  general  routine  of  each  day's  work  in  the 
Senate,  but  the  days  vary  greatly  in  interest  to  the  visitor. 
He  may  chance  upon  some  long,  dry  speech,  which  as  it 
is  read  empties  the  galleries,  or  he  may  listen  to  a  speech 
which  will  pass  into  history.  He  may  be  still  more  for- 
tunate, and  listen  to  a  sharp  debate  when  speeches  are  made 


118  BEQUESTS   OF  CONSTITUENTS. 

by  leaders  on  both  sides,  and  the  finest  abilities  of  able 
men  are  brought  into  play. 

There  have  been  less  than  a  thousand  senators  in  our 
history,  and  of  these  seventeen  have  afterwards  become 
Presidents,  though  curiously  enough  no  Senator  when  in 
actual  service  has  ever  been  called  to  the  Presidency.  Most 
of  the  Senators  have  their  private  secretaries  who  attend  to 
their  enormous  mails,  for  there  are  plenty  of  people  in  every 
state  who  consider  it  their  blessed  privilege'  to  write  to 
them  upon  every  conceivable  subject  and  to  ask  them  for 
anything  they  happen  to  wish.  And  the  Senators  are  very 
particular  about  replies  to  their  constituents.  Almost  every 
day  a  senator  will  find  in  his  mail  requests  of  which  the 
following,  as  exhibited  by  one  member,  may  be  taken  as 
samples : 

"  SENATOR  —  Will  carp  eat  gold  fish  ?    If  so,  send  me  some  carp." 

This  was  referred  to  the  Fish  Commission,  which  doubt- 
less attended  to  it,  for  the  Fish  Commission  must  needs 
please  the  Senator ;  so  that  when  the  time  comes  he  may 
favor  a  good  appropriation  for  its  work,  besides,  the 
Senator  assumes  that  the  writer  has  a  vote  which  may 
come  in  handy  when  his  term  expires. 

Here  is  another : 

"  DEAR  SENATOR  —  We  want  a  baby.  We  want  you  to  pick  us  out  a 
baby,  my  wife  wants  a  girl  but  I  want  a  boy  but  never  mind.  I  don't 
care  witch.  Tell  me  what  it  cost.  Respectfully,"  


The  writer  had  probably  heard  about  the  Foundling's 
Institute  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  over  which  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  supervision. 

The  Senators  have  their  lobbies  and  lounging  rooms 
where  many  a  choice  cigar  is  smoked  and  many  a  story 
told.  But  this  is  beyond  the  rude  gaze  of  the  world.  If 
you  wish  to  see  a  Senator  you  are  supposed  to  go  to  the 
large  waiting-room  at  one  side  of  the  Senate  chamber, 
where  decorum  reigns.  At  the  passage-way  sits  an  elderly 


A  SENATOR'S  ANXIOUS  CLIENTS.  11$ 

man  with  several  youths  in  waiting.  You  hand  your  card 
to  this  man,  who  scribbles  the  Senator's  name  on  it,  and 
away  goes  a  messenger.  Soon  he  will  return  and  make  to 
those  in  waiting  a  series  of  perfunctory  announcements  like 
these : 

"  Senator  So-and-So  is  not  here  at  present." 

"Senator  Blank  will  see  you,  sir.  Step  right  into 
the  reception-room." 

"  Senator  X  is  very  sorry,  but  the  Senator  makes  it  a 
rule  not  to  see  ladies  at  the  Capitol." 

There  are  a  plenty  who  do,  however,  for  it  is  a  noticeable 
fact  that  the  waiting-room  is  frequently  thronged  with 
women.  A  number  of  them-  are  conversing  with  Senators ; 
others  are  gazing  towards  the  doors  which  lead  into  the 
Senate.  Some  seem  to  be  waiting  with  eager  eyes  and 
anxious  faces;  others  are  leaning  back  upon  the  sofas  in 
attitudes  of  luxurious  listlessness.  Do  you  ask  why  they 
are  here?  Are  they  studying  the  stately  proportions  and 
exquisite  finesse  of  the  ante-room?  Not  at  all.  It  is  not 
devotion  to  the  aesthetic  arts  nor  the  inspiration  of  patriot- 
ism which  brings  these  women  here,  but  necessity,  either 
real  or  imaginary.  Sometimes  it  is  their  only  way  to 
success  in  securing  employment  or  a  hearing  of  their 
grievances  and  claims.  They  are  a  few,  only  a  very 
few,  of  the  women  with  "  claims,"  who  through  the  sessions 
of  Congress  haunt  the  departments,  the  White  House,  and 
the  Capitol. 

The  dejected-looking  persons  on  the  sofa  opposite  are 
petitioners  for  relief  by  an  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the 
payment  of  some  claim.  You  may  be  certain  by  the 
unhopeful  expression  of  their  faces  that  it  is  their  own 
claims  which,  almost  unaided  and  alone,  they  are  trying 
to  "  work  through  "  Congress.  Their  homes  are  far  distant. 
They  borrowed  money  to  come  here  and  to  support  their 
families  meanwhile ;  borrowed  money  to  pay  their  own 
8 


120  PLACE-HUNTERS   AND   CLAIM- WORKERS. 

board,  and  the  exorbitant  fees  of  the  claim  agents,  who, 
constantly  fanning  the  flame  of  "great  expectations," 
assure  them  every  day  that  Congress  will  pay  them  the 
thousands  which  they  demand.  Meantime  the  session  is 
almost  ended,  and  these  claims,  on  which  hang  such  heavy 
loads  of  debt  and  fear,  lie  hidden  and  forgotten  in  the 
pigeon-hole  of  the  Committee  which  must  consider  and 
report  upon  each  before  it  will  be  heard  in  the  Senate 
or  House. 

Members  of  Committees  are  beset  by  such  claimants,  but 
are  always  kind  and  considerate.  Few  have  the  courage  to 
add  to  the  misery  of  these  unfortunates  by  frankly  telling 
them  the  truth.  They  find  it  out  at  last,  and  then,  remem- 
bering all  the  evasions,  in  their  disappointment  and  hopeless 
poverty,  they  denounce  senators  and  members  as  "  deceitful 
and  heartless,"  whereas  these  honorable  gentlemen  were 
only  trying  to  be  kind  and  encouraging.  Besides,  members 
of  both  houses  are  too  much  interested  in  immense  claims 
involving  millions  to  be  paid  out  of  the  National  Treasury, 
and  too  much  absorbed  in  the  discussion  of  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  Republic,  to  bo  able  to  come  down  to  the  small 
particulars  of  individual  claims  and  grievances.  In  time  — 
whose  cycles  may  ba  as  long  as  those  of  the  Circumlocution 
Office  and  the  Court  of  Chancery  —  some  time,  when  the 
claimants  have  borrowed  and  spent  more  money  than  the 
whole  claim  is  worth,  it  may  be  investigated,  and  full  or 
partial  justice  done. '  In  either  case,  it  will  often  take  more 
than  they  receive  to  pay  the  many  expenses  which  they 
have  incurred  during  their  long  years  of  waiting.  Do  you 
wonder  that  their  faces  look  doleful  while  they  wait  for 
Senator  So-and-so  to  come  to  answer  their  cards  and  their 
queries  ?  Here  he  is,  and  we  can  hear  whafrhe  says,  "  I  am 
very  sorry,  but  it  is  too  late.  I  fear  that  your  case  cannot 
be  reached  this  session."  Poor  creatures !  It  would  have 
been  far  better  for  them  to  have  stayed  at  home,  kept  out 


A  NECESSARY   EVIL.  121 

of  debt,  and  worked  at  anything  to  have  supported  theii 
dependent  families.  This  might  have  been  a  hard  life,  but 
not  so  hard  as  the  mortification,  suspense,  defeat  of  cher- 
ished plans,  and  the  long  years  of  worry  and  labor  devoted 
to  hopeless  expectations. 

Unfortunately,  the  professional  lobby  has  developed  into 
a  necessary  evil.  Congress  is  annually  so  swamped  with 
appeals  for  legislation,  much  of  it  of  a  private  character  and 
much  of  it  of  questionable  merit,  that  the  policy  of  delay 
becomes  easy  and  natural.  Even  such  legislation  as  does 
pass  absorbs  all  of  the  current  resources  of  the  government 
that  can  be  spared,  and  to  clean  up  all  the  claims  at  once 
might  bankrupt  it.  As  all  work  is  done  in  committee,  and 
as  no  bill  has  a  fair  chance  of  passage  unless  favorably 
reported  by  the  committee  to  which  it  was  referred,  the 
stress  of  the  lobby  comes  almost  entirely  upon  the  commit- 
teeman,  and  he  is  haunted  quite  as  much  when  away  from 
the  Capitol  as  in  it.  The  deplorable  thing  about  this  situa- 
tion is  that  many  of  the  most  meritorious  claims  are  neg- 
lected simply  because  there  is  no  professional  lobbyist  to 
bother  Congressmen  about  them.  Some  of  these  claims 
date  back  for  many  years. 

When  General  George  K.  Clark,  the  young  Virginian 
scout  of  the  Revolution,  with  the  approval  of  Washington, 
set  out  for  an  operation  against  the  British  forts  of  the 
Northwest,  and  arrived  at  Kaskaskia,  in  the  winter  of  1778, 
out  of  means  to  prosecute  his  march  to  Yincennes,  a  patri- 
otic French  priest  generously  offered  him  the  means,  if 
Clark  would  guarantee  that  he  bo  reimbursed  after  the  Avar. 
Clark  accepted  the  offer,  and  the  consequent  capture  of  Yin- 
cennes was  the  sole  ground  for  the  surrender  after  York- 
town  of  all  that  great  territory  now  comprising  the  states 
of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  "Wisconsin.  Yet  Con- 
gress did  nothing  to  keep  Clark's  word  with  the  loyal 
priest,  who  died  a  poor  man,  and  the  claim  fell  from  heir  to 


122  THE   POLICY   OF  DELAY. 

heir,  till  finally,  after  a  hundred  years,  and  solely  because  a 
smart  lobbyist  was  employed,  the  claim  was  pushed 
through.  Only  a  short  time  ago  occurred  the  last  vote  on 
a  claim  for  nearly  $100,000  for  the  destruction  of  a  private 
vessel  during  the  Kevolutionary  war  by  federal  authorities. 
When  at  last  the  great-grandchildren  employed  a  lobbyist 
who  took  a  generous  share  for  his  services,  the  claim  was 
reached. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  the  lobbyist  uses  money  to 
effect  such  legislation.  His  strength  lies  in  persistence  and 
in  "knowing  the  ropes."  He  is  often  an  ex-Congressman, 
and  Washington  is  full  of  them  —  pension  lobbyists,  patent 
lobbyists,  river  and  harbor  lobbyists,  war-damage  lobbyists, 
back-pay  and  bounty  lobbyists,  and  office-seeking  lobbyists. 
These  people  burrow  in  the  records  of  the  government  for 
possible  claimants  who  might  not  otherwise  give  their 
claims  a  thought.  As  claims  are  taken  on  a  contingent  fee, 
there  is  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  for  the 
claimant.  With  such  a  wholesale  stress  always  brought 
upon  Congress,  it  has  fallen  into  the  habit  of  waiting  to  be 
pushed. 

The  House  as  a  working  establishment  is  almost  every- 
thing which  the  Senate  is  not.  In  the  Senate  the  majority 
sits  with  the  minority  ;  in  the  House  the  majority  sits  on  the 
minority.  In  the  Senate,  the  Vice-President,  as  the  presid- 
ing officer,  recognizes  any  member  addressing  him ;  in  the 
House,  the  Speaker  does  or  does  not,  just  as  he  pleases.  He 
often  pays  no  heed  to  members  in  the  front  seats  who  are 
endeavoring  to  attract  his  attention  by  cries  of  "  Mister 
Speaker!"  in  every  note  in  the  gamut,  accompanied  by 
frantic  gesticulations,  and  "  recognizes "  some  quiet  person 
beyond  them.  "  I  have  been  a  member  of  this  House  three 
successive  sessions,"  said  an  indignant  Tennesseean  who  had 
vainly  tried  to  obtain  the  floor,  "and  during  that  time  I 
have  caught  the  measles,  the  whooping-cough,  and  the  influ- 


THE   SECOND   MAN   IN    THE   GOVERNMENT.  123 

enza,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  catch  the  Speaker's 
eye." 

In  the  Senate,  a  man  can  talk  forever,  if  he  wishes  to  be 
so  unsenatorial ;  in  the  House  he  can  have  only  the  time 
allowed  him.  In  the  Senate  the  Yice-President  has  no 
influence  whatever ;  in  the  House  the  Speaker  has  all  the 
influence.  So  we  might  continue  the  contrast. 

The  autocratic  powers  of  the  Speaker  do  not  arise  from 
any  usurpation,  but  because  in  such  a  body  it  became  abso- 
lutely essential  for  an  autocrat  to  exist.  The  Speaker  is 
barely  mentioned  in  the  Constitution,  but,  to  manage  an 
ever-growing  House,  he  has  developed  into  the  second  man 
in  the  government.  In  many  respects  he  is  even  more  pow- 
erful than  the  President,  for  while  the  latter  can  only 
approve  or  disapprove  of  measures,  the  Speaker  can  largely 
determine  their  nature  and  decide  their  fate.  He  appoints 
all  the  committees  and  their  chairmen,  and  the  committees 
practically  do  everything.  He  has  sole  power  of  recogni- 
tion, from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  and  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Kules  he  can  dictate  the  action  of  the  House. 
He  can  make  and  unmake  men  merely  by  committee  assign- 
ments or  by  refusing  recognition  for  the  consideration  of 
local  bills  which  may  have  passed  the  Senate  and  have  been 
favorably  reported  in  the  House.  If  he  decides  that  it  is 
inexpedient  for  a  bill  to  pass,  that  is  the  end  of  the  matter. 
There  is  no  way  a  member  can  reach  it,  even  though  he 
knows  that  his  fate  in  the  next  election  at  home  depends 
upon  it.  The  Speaker  is  not  bound  by  the  rulings  of  any 
previous  speaker ;  there  are  no  precedents  for  him.  Such  is 
the  man  who  presides  over  the  "popular"  branch  of  the 
Congress.  Of  course  he  is  generally  wise  enough  to  use  his 
power  wisely,  but  his  own  party  will  uphold  him  in  the 
most  drastic  treatment  of  the  minority. 

There  are  about  fifty  standing  committees,  each  of  them 
averaging  a  dozen  members,  and  every  member  of  the 


124  WORK  OF  THE  COMMITTEES. 

House  is  placed  on  some  one  committee.  Then  there  are 
always  a  few  select  committees  for  subjects  of  current  inter- 
est. When  a  bill  is  introduced  —  they  come  in  by  hundreds, 
especially  in  the  opening  days  of  Congress  —  the  clerk  reads 
the  titles  and  the  Speaker  assigns  them  to  a  committee 
without  consulting  any  one,  though  if  there  is  a  dispute  it  is 
assigned  by  vote  of  the  House.  That  is  the  last  heard  of  a 
majority  of  them.  The  committees  take  up  each  bill  and 
hear  whatever  evidence  they  think  necessary  upon  it. 
About  nine  teen-twentieths  of  the  bills  never  come  back  to 
the  House  for  a  vote.  It  is  therefore  almost  wholly  as  a 
committeeman  that  a  Congressman  does  his  work.  As  a 
rule,  only  large  questions  lead  to  extensive  debates  in  the 
House  and  these  are  generally  made  up  of  short  speeches. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  speeches  printed  in  the  "  Congres- 
sional Record"  are  not  delivered  orally  at  all,  but  are 
inserted  through  a  privilege  generously  allowed.  Speeches 
that  are  actually  delivered  are  taken  down  in  shorthand  by 
official  reporters.  If  the  orator  so  desires  he  can  have  the 
opportunity  of  revising  the  manuscript,  and  he  may  also 
have  proof  sheets  submitted  when  asked  for.  Some  speak- 
ers change,  correct,  and  polish  their  sentences  with  infinite 
pains,  or  have  others  do  it  for  them,  until  but  little  of  what 
they  originally  said  remains.  In  this  way  the  Congressman 
can  distribute,  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  speeches 
which  surprise  his  constituents  who  never  believed  him 
capable  of  such  exhaustive  and  eloquent  efforts.  ," 

As  evidence  of  what  a  single  Congress  encounters,  it  may 
be  stated  that  in  one  of  the  late  ones  about  5,000  bills  were 
introduced  in  the  Senate  and  11,000  in  the  House.  Of  this 
total  of  16,000  bills,  only  460  passed,  two-thirds  of  them 
being  private  bills.  About  four-fifths  of  the  bills  introduced 
were  not  reported  on  at  all. 

The  great  days  in  the  House  are  exceptional,  but  when 
they  do  come  they  exceed  in  spectacular  interest  anything  in 


METHODS  OF  THE  HOUSE.  125 

the  Senate.  At  noon  the  Speaker  walks  out  of  his  room  and 
ascends  the  steps  leading  up  to  his  high  marble  desk.  The 
Sergeant-at-Arms  enters  and  places  his  mace  in  the  socket  at 
the  right  of  the  Speaker,  where  it  remains  unless  he  is  called 
upon  to  bear  it  up  one  of  the  aisles  to  overawe  unruly  mem- 
bers. The  chaplain  comes  forward,  and  all  rise  while  he 
offers  an  invocation.  The  House  then  proceeds  to  business, 
but  in  an  entirely  different  way  from  the  Senate.  The 
House  has  three  calendars,  and  in  theory  it  ought  to  take 
them  up  each  day  and  dispose  of  each  article  in  its  order, 
but  in  practice  they  are  never  taken  up  at  all.  Everything 
is  done  by  special  rules  made  by  the  Committee  on  Rules,  of 
which  the  Speaker  is  chairman.  This  committee  brings  in  a 
rule  that  such  and  such  a  measure  shall  be  taken  up  on  a 
certain  day,  and  up  it  comes,  the  Speaker  recognizing  no  one 
except  the  member  privileged  to  bring  it  up  and  those  who 
have  secured  permission  to  speak  upon  it.  Appropriation 
bills,  however,  are  privileged  because  they  provide  the 
money  necessary  for  running  the  government.  These  are 
the  only  exceptions. 

"While  business  seems  to  be  proceeding  always  in  great 
confusion,  it  is  clear  enough  to  those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  process.  The  visitor  who  has  patience  will  some  day 
happen  upon  an  exciting  debate  upon  some  subject  of  great 
popular  interest.  Then  he  will  see  the  apparently  disorderly 
members  clustering  round  the  man  who  is  speaking  and  those 
who  are  debating  with  him.  Nothing  can  exceed  in  interest 
a  debate  of  this  kind  when  keen  men  are  fencing  or  sparring 
with  their  wits.  There  are  some  men  always  who  will  com- 
mand attention  and  silence  whenever  they  rise  for  a  set 
speech.  It  is  a  great  privilege  to  happen  into  the  gallery 
when  some  great  debate  is  closing,  and  the  last  speeches  are 
made  by  the  leaders  on  both  sides,  short  and  to  the  point. 
Then  the  leader  of  the  minority  delivers  his  last  assault  upon 
the  bill ;  the  leader  of  the  majority  replies  to  him,  and  then 


126  CLOSING  A  DEBATE. 

the  Speaker  says :  "  The  hour  having  arrived  at  which  the 
House  has  ordered  that  the  debate  be  closed,  the  vote  will 
now  be  taken  upon  the  bill  and  amendments."  Then  follows 
a  dreary  process  which  may  last  hours;  for  each  roll-call  for 
a  yea  and  nay  vote  requires  a  full  half  hour,  and  often  such 
a  roll-call  is  taken  on  every  little  amendment.  Sometimes 
whole  days  are  consumed  in  these  roll-calls,  the  motion  for 
a  yea  and  nay  vote  being  purposely  made  by  obstructionists 
desirous  of  consuming  time  and  preventing  action. 

In  winding  up  the  debate  on  a  bill  each  side  is  allowed  a 
certain  time,  which  is  credited  to  certain  leaders,  who  are,  in 
turn,  at  liberty  to  give  a  portion  of  it  to  other  members. 
The  member  speaking  will  say :  "  I  yield  the  floor  to  the 
gentleman  from  Ohio  for  ten  minutes."  But  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole,  speeches  are  limited  to  five  minutes,  and  he 
who  gets  a  chance  seldom  gives  any  of  it  away. 

For  expediting  the  great  mass  of  business  in  which  Con- 
gress is  involved  no  expense  is  spared  to  provide  the  neces- 
sary machinery.  There  are  about  175  telephones  in  the 
Capitol,  of  which  number  100  are  on  the  House  side  with 
their  own  "  central."  Another  "  central "  on  the  Senate  side 
governs  about  sixty -five  telephones,  and  there  are  a  dozen 
other  instruments  in  other  parts  of  the  building  providing 
connection  with  the  departments  and  the  outside  world. 
Thus  a  veritable  maze  of  wires  pervades  the  building,  each 
committee  room  having  its  own  telephone,  while  special 
lines  connect  with  the  White  House  and  each  of  the  depart 
ments.  The  folding  rooms  of  the  Senate  and  House  are  al- 
ways busy  places.  From  them  the  books  and  documents, 
fresh  from  the  Government  Printing  Office,  are  sent  in  a 
never-ending  stream,  each  member  being  credited  w^ith  a 
certain  number,  and  he  draws  upon  them  as  he  wishes. 
The  Senate  and  the  House  each  has  its  own  post-office  in  the 
Capital,  and  each  does  a  business  equal  to  that  transacted  by 
the  post-office  of  a  good-sized  city ;  both  are  kept  open  the 


FRANKING  HIS  GOODS  HOME.  127 

year  round,  a  great  deal  of  mail  being  forwarded  to  Sena- 
tors and  Kepresentatives  when  Congress  is  not  in  session. 

In  theory  the  franking  privilege  extends  only  to  the 
Congressional  documents,  books,  papers,  and  letters  relating 
to  official  business,  but  in  practice  it  covers  almost  every- 
thing that  members  of  the  Senate  or  House  have  in  their 
possession. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  session  each  Congressman  receives 
three  chests.  Two  of  them  are  of  pine,  but  strongly  built  and 
braced.  They  are  about  three  feet  long,  two  in  width  and 
a  foot  and  a  half  deep.  The  third  is  of  cedar,  slightly  larger 
than  the  others,  handsome  and  well-made.  They  come  from 
the  House  carpenter  shop  and  are  built  by  the  House  carpen- 
ter and  paid  for  out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  the  Senate  and 
House.  When  the  Congressman  receives  his  quota  of  boxes 
he  has  nothing  to  pay. 

Into  these  boxes  the  member  or  his  clerk  dumps  all  his 
letter  files,  papers,  documents,  books,  maps  and  other  publi- 
cations that  he  has  in  stock.  Typewriters,  letter  presses, 
inkstands,  and  other  office  paraphernalia  are  stowed  away 
in  their  recesses.  Frequently  clothing,  bedding,  and  other 
personal  household  effects  are  packed  in  these  boxes.  When 
filled  to  the  brim  they  are  locked  and  the  tops  screwed  down, 
and  then  they  are  carted  off  to  the  Post-office,  where  they 
are  franked  through  the  mails  to  all  points  within  the  bor- 
ders of  the  United  States.  Having  been  utilized  for  ship- 
ping purposes,  the  fine  cedar  box  is  stored  away  in  some 
family  closet,  there  to  become  the  receptacle  for  the  family 
furs,  fine  dresses,  and  other  materials.  Sometimes  it  is  used 
as  a  chest  for  the  family  silver.  As  the  boxes  become  the 
private  property  of  the  members  and  \  Senators,  they  are 
privileged,  of  course,  to  make  such  use  of  them  as  they  de- 
sire. 

It  is  no  longer  considered  proper  for  Congressmen  to 
ship  anything  under  a  frank  that  cannot  be  packed  in  these 


128         FRANKING  TEN  TONS  OF  MAIL  MATTER  A  DAY. 

special  boxes  or  in  the  mail  sacks  which  are  provided  for 
documents. 

Over  1000  boxes,  together  with  more  than  that  number 
of  bags  of  public  documents,  were  shipped  by  members  at 
the  close  of  the  Fifty -sixth  Congress  to  different  parts  of  the 
country  in  the  spring  of  1901.  Their  total  weight  approxi- 
mated 400,000  pounds,  and  for  a  number  of  days  these  ship- 
ments averaged  ten  tons  a  day. 

The  small  salaries  of  hard-working  statesmen  entitle 
them  to  all  possible  provision  for  their  personal  comfort. 
Members  of  the  House  pay  for  their  shaves  and  haircuts  in 
the  barber  shops  on  their  side  at  the  regular  rates,  but  such 
luxuries  are  free  to  the  Senators,  the  barbers  being  employed 
by  the  government  as  "  skilled  laborers  "  at  $900  a  year  each. 
The  bay  rum  and  cosmetics  are  drawn  from  the  general  sup- 
ply room,  being  paid  for  out  of  the  contingent  fund.  In  tho 
Senate  barber  shop  are  four  bath  rooms,  in  one  of  which  is 
a  box  just  big  enough  for  the  fattest  possible  senator  to  get 
into.  It  is  closed  upon  him  so  that  only  his  head  appears 
through  a  hole  in  the  top.  Then  the  vapor  is  turned  on, 
while,  if  he  chooses,  he  can  take  a  current  of  electricity  at 
the  same  time.  The  House  of  Representatives  has  superb 
baths  in  the  basement,  with  massage  experts  in  attendance. 

A  strange  life  is  that  of  this  great  edifice  of  the  nation. 
All  day  long,  men,  women,  and  children  come  and  go,  their 
footsteps  echoing  through  the  stone  passage-ways  in  the 
basement,  up  and  down  the  marble  stairways  and  through 
the  long  corridors  running  all  the  way  from  the  Senate  to 
the  House.  Here  are  all  sorts  of  figures  —  lean  and  fat, 
long  and  short,  handsome,  homely,  and  ugly,  crooked 'and 
straight.  The  elegant  woman  of  fashion  is  elbow  to  elbow 
with  the  visitor  from  the  rural  districts,  whose  manners 
plainly  show  that  she  is  not  familiar  with  the  courtesies  and 
conventionalities  of  city  life.  Here  we  see  the  disconsolate 
face  of  the  unkempt,  out-at-elbow  office  seeker ;  the  ener- 


A   HIVE   OF   INDUSTRY.  129 

getic,  well-dressed  man  whose  business  is  "  working  a  com- 
mittee "  ;  the  alert  young  fellow  who  seems  and  is  perfectly 
at  home,  for  he  is  the  correspondent  of  a  great  newspaper 
and  knows  every  in  and  out  of  this  great  hive  of  activity ; 
the  old  soldier  who  has  secured  a  good  berth  in  the  building ; 
and  so  wherever  we  stand,  we  behold  people  from  every  walk 
in  life  passing  before  us,  as  motley  a  crowd  as  can  be  seen 
anywhere  in  the  civilized  world. 

One  might  suppose  that  when  Congress  is  not  in  session 
the  vast  Capitol  would  be  silent  and  deserted.  But  though 
the  bustle  and  activity  of  Congressional  life  depart,  the  Cap- 
itol is  always  a  busy  hive  of  industry.  No  less  than  four 
hundred  people  are  always  at  work  there,  to  say  nothing  of 
those  who  are  constantly  employed  to  renovate  the  building, 
prepare  it  for  the  next  session,  and  keep  it  always  in  order. 
The  restaurants  run  the  year  round,  the  Sergeant-at-Arms 
continues  his  banking  business,  which  mainly  consists  of  mail- 
ing to  each  member  the  third  day  of  each  month  a  check  for 
$416.66.  The  folding  and  document  rooms  are  always  fill- 
ing orders  from  absent  Congressmen,  and  every  day  brings 
its  throng  of  visitors. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A   TOUR   THROUGH    THE   WHITE    HOUSE    PROM   ATTIC    TO 

CELLAR  — SUNSHINE  AND  SHADOWS  OF  THE  PAST  — 

WHITE  HOUSE  WEDDINGS  AND  TRAGEDIES. 

Inside  the  White  House  —  An  Historic  Mansion  —  Reminiscences  of  the 
Past— "What  Tales  the  Room  Could  Tell  If  It  But  Had  a  Tongue"— 
Why  It  Is  Called  the  White  House  — Its  Cost  —  How  To  Gain  Admis 
sion — Its  Famous  Rooms  and  Their  Furnishings — Invited  To  "Assist" 

—  The  Great  East  Room  —  Chandeliers  That  Cost   $5,000  Each  — 
Where  Mrs.  Adams  "Dried  the  Family  Wash  "  — Shaking  Hands 
with  Sixty  Thousand  Persons  —  A  Swollen  Hand  and  a  Lame  Arm  — 
How  an  Old  Lady  Greeted  the  President  —Trying  To  See  the  President 

—  Indignant  Visitors  —  Feminine  Curiosity  —  Weddings  in  the  White 
House  —  The  Shadow  of  Death  —  Tragedies  of  the  White  House. 

"All  houses  wherein  men  have  lived  and  died 

Are  haunted  houses.     Through  the  open  doors 
•The  harmless  phantoms  on  their  errands  glide, 
With  feet  that  make  no  sound  upon  the  floors. 

"  There  are  more  guests  at  table,  than  the  hosts 

Invited  ;  the  illuminated  hall 
Is  thronged  with  quiet,  inoffensive  ghosts, 
As  silent  as  the  pictures  on  the  wall." 

HESE    lines    were    never    truer    of   any    human 
habitation  than  of  the  White  House  at  Wash- 
ington.    The  Nation's  House!     The  procession 
of  families  which  the  people  have  sent  to  inhabit 
it,  in  moving  on  to  make  place  for  others,  have  left 
memories  behind  which  haunt  these  great  rooms  and 
fill  staircase,  alcove,  and  pictorial  space  with  historic 
recollections.     Here  human  life  has  been  lived,  enjoyed, 
suffered,  and  resigned,  just  as  it  is  lived  every  day  in  any 
house  wherein  human  beings  are  born,  wherein  they  live 

(130) 


A   HOUSE   OF  EVENTS  AND  MEMORIES.  133 

and  die.  Marriages,  merry-makings,  jovial  feasts,  and  cere- 
monial banquets;  grave  councils  of  state  that  shaped  the 
destiny  of  the  nation;  secret  intrigues  and  midnight  con- 
claves that  made  or  unmade  political  parties;  war-councils 
that  flashed  forth  telegraphic  orders  which  moved  great 
armies  and  set  lines  of  battle  in  deadly  front,  have  taken 
place  in  this  historic  house.  Within  its  walls  many  children 
have  first  opened  their  eyes  upon  this  tantalizing  life ;  here 
children  have  died,  leaving  father  and  mother  desolate  amid 
all  the  pomp  of  place  and  state,  and  here  presidents  and 
their  wives  have  laid  their  earthly  burdens  and  honors 
down.  Think  what  tales  the  White  House  could  tell  if  it 
but  had  a  tongue ! 

The  popular  name  of  the  President's  home  is  the  "  White 
House,"  but  its  official  designation  is  the  "  Executive  Man- 
sion." Its  corner-stone  was  laid  October  13,  1792.  We 
have  seen  how  anxious  Jefferson  was  that  it  should  be 
modeled  after  some  famous  modern  palace  of  Europe.  The 
one  at  last  selected  was  the  country  house  of  the  Irish  Duke 
of  Leinster,  in  Dublin,  who  had  himself  copied  the  Italian 
style.  It  was  open,  though  not  ready  for  occupancy,  in  the 
summer  of  1800.  It  is  always  pleasant  and  restful  to  the 
sight  when  the  eyes  fall  upon  its  freestone  walls,  peering 
pure  and  softened  through  the  sea  of  greenery  which  sur- 
rounds it.  Its  cost  to  the  present  time  exceeds  $1,700,000. 

In  1814  the  British  set  fire  to  the  building,  but  heavy 
rains  extinguished  the  conflagration  before  it  had  irretriev- 
ably injured  the  walls.  Three  years  later  the  house  had 
been  restored,  and  it  was  then  painted  white  to  cover  the 
unsightly  ravages  of  fire  on  its  walls,  a  color  which  has 
ever  since  been  retained.  The  building  is  170  feet  in  length 
and  eighty-six  feet  in  depth,  and  consists  of  two  high 
stories,  with  a  basement.  It  contains  thirty-one  rooms. 
Excepting  the  family  dining-room  every  one  of  the  first 
floor  is  devoted  to  state  purposes.  The  basement  contains 


THE   HOUSE  AND   GROUNDS.  135 

eleven  rooms,  used  as  kitchens,  pantries,  and  butler's  rooms. 
These  are  open,  spacious,  comfortable,  and  cheerful.  On 
the  second  floor,  five  rooms  are  used  as  chambers  by  the 
Presidential  family,  and  other  rooms  are  the  President's 
Office,  the  Cabinet  room,  private  telegraph  office,  waiting- 
room,  and  Library  of  the  President.  Its  north  front  faces 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and  has  a  lofty  portico  with  four 
Ionic  columns  and  a  projecting  screen  of  three  columns. 
Between  these  columns  pass  the  carriages  which  in  the  gay 
season  form  a  continuous  moving  line. 

The  grounds  consist  of  about  eighty  acres  sloping  gently 
down  to  the  great  circular  White  Lot,  beyond  which  are  the 
grounds  of  Washington  Monument,  while  farther  to  the 
south  lies  the  broad  Potomac.  These  grounds  are  prac- 
tically a  public  park,  for  they  are  at  times  used  freely  by 
the  public.  The  several  gates  through  the  high  iron  fence 
that  surrounds  the  northern  grounds  stand  open  always,  but 
those  at  the  south  entrance  are  closed  and  locked,  except  on 
certain  occasions  like  the  Saturday  evening  concerts  of  the 
Marine  Band,  and  the  Easter  egg-rolling,  when  the  grounds 
are  given  up  to  the  children  for  the  whole  day. 

The  White  House  is  usually  open  to  visitors  from  10 
A.  M.  to  2  P.  M.,  and  any  person  may  enter  the  great  East 
Room  without  introduction  or  formality  ;  but  a  card  from  a 
Senator  or  Member,  or  introduction  in  some  form,  is  neces- 
sary to  gain  admittance  to  other  rooms,  excepting  to  the 
private  dining-room  on  the  first  floor,  which  is  the  only 
room  of  which  the  President's  family  has  exclusive  use. 
The  ease  of  access  to,  and  the  freedom  of,  the  White  House, 
are  the  marvel  of  foreigners  familiar  with  the  difficulty  of 
gaining  entrance  to  the  homes  of  rulers  in  other  lands. 
Charles  Dickens,  in  his  "  American  Notes,"  gives  the  follow- 
ing description  of  his  visit  to  the  White  House  in  1842 : 

"We  entered  a  large  hall,  and  having  twice  or  thrice  rung  a  bell 
which  nobody  answered,  walked  without  further  ceremony  through  the 


136  THE  VESTIBULE  AND   RED  ROOM. 

rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  as  divers  other  gentlemen  (mostly  with  their 
hats  on  and  their  hands  in  their  pockets)  were  doing  very  leisurely.  Some 
of  these  had  ladies  with  them,  to  whom  they  were  showing  the  premises  » 
others  were  lounging  on  the  chairs  and  sofas  ;  others,  in  a  perfect  state  of 
exhaustion  from  listlessness,  were  yawning  drearily.  The  greater  portion 
of  this  assemblage  were  rather  asserting  their  supremacy  than  doing  any- 
thing else,  as  they  had  no  particular  business  there,  that  anybody  knew  of. 
A  few  were  closely  eyeing  the  movables,  as  if  to  make  quite  sure  that  the 
President  (who  was  far  from  popular)  had  not  made  away  with  any  of  the 
furniture,  or  sold  the  fixtures  for  his  private  benefit." 

We  approach  the  White  House  from.  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  passing  through  a  fine  Colonial  gateway,  and 
leisurely  wend  our  way  along  the  sidewalk  that  skirts  the 
semi-circular  driveway  leading  up  to  the  main  entrance. 
As  we  enter,  we  see  that  the  vestibule  is  separated  from  the 
central  corridor  by  a  handsome  screen  of  wrinkled  stained- 
glass  mosaic,  studded  with  cut  crystal,  which  at  night  shines 
like  the  walls  of  an  enchanted  palace.  The  ordinary  visitor 
sees  this  vestibule  but  does  not  see  the  grand  corridor 
beyond.  This  belongs  to  the  more  private  part  of  the 
house,  but  is  open  to  the  public  when  there  is  a  reception. 
There  are  in  the  glass  screen,  however,  doors  which  can 
hardly  be  detected,  and  through  one  of  these  the  privileged 
visitor  may  enter  at  once  to  the  corridor. 

We  enter  the  Red  Room  first  —  the  family  reception- 
room.  Its  prevailing  color  —  Pompeiian  red  —  sheds  a  light 
soft  and  rosy,  and  its  piano,  mantel  ornaments,  mahogany 
furniture,  and  pictures  give  it  a  cosy  and  home-like  look.  It 
is  used  as  a  reception-room  and  private  parlor  by  the  ladies 
of  the  mansion.  Many  portraits  of  former  Presidents  look 
clown  from  its  walls. 

We  pass  through  the  Red  Room  into  the  Blue  Room. 
The  chairs,  the  sofas,  the  carpet,  the  walls,  all  are  tinged 
with  the  celestial  hue,  flushed  here  and  there  with  a  tint  of 
rose.  The  mantel  clock  was  presented  by  Napoleon  I.  to 
Lafayette  and  by  him  to  the  United  States.  The  form  of 


THE  BLUE  AND  GREEN  ROOMS.  137 

the  room  is  elliptical,  and  its  bay  windows  look  out  on  the 
beautiful  grounds  stretching  away  to  the  Potomac.  Here, 
with  the  daylight  excluded,  soft  rays  falling  from  the 
chandelier  above,  flowers  everywhere  pouring  out  fragrance, 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  ladies  decked  in  jewels  and  3ostly 
gowns  invited  to  "assist,"  the  wives  of  the  Presidents  have 
for  many  years  held  their  receptions. 

The  Blue  Room  opens  into  the  Green  Eoom.  It  is  un- 
pretentious, with  delicate  green  upholstered  walls  and  fur- 
nishings of  the  same  tint;  furniture,  mirror-frames,  and 
window  cornices  gleam  with  gold.  Above  the  marble  man- 
tel-piece is  a  large  mirror  which  reflects  the  costly  clock  of 
ebony  and  malachite  and  the  rare  vases  that  stand  on  each 
side.  Beautiful,  tall  vases,  constantly  replenished  with  fresh 
flowers  from  the  White  House  conservatories,  ornament  the 
room.  Notable  portraits  adorn  the  walls,  among  them  a 
full  length  of  Mrs.  Benjamin  Harrison,  presented  by  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  of  whose  society 
she  was  president ;  also  one,  corresponding  in  size,  of  Mrs. 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  presented  by  the  Women's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation  of  her 
courage  in  maintaining  the  cold  water  regime  at  the  White 
House  in  spite  of  the  opposition  and  harsh  criticism  of  a 
certain  class. 

From  the  Green  Room  we  enter  the  famous  East  Room, 
extending  across  the  entire  eastern  side  of  the  house,  which 
is  the  only  reception-room  usually  open  to  the  public.  It  is 
eighty-two  feet  long,  forty  feet  wide,  and  twenty-two  feet 
high.  Three  immense  crystal  chandeliers,  each  costing 
$5,000,  hang  from  the  ceiling.  Originally  intended  for  a 
banquet  hall,  and  so  used  until  1827,  it  is  now  the  state  re- 
ception-room. It  has  already  taken  on  the  mellowness,  not 
of  age,  but  of  use,  and  in  aspect  bears  no  kin  to  the  un- 
finished "  Banqueting  Hall "  in  which  Mrs.  Adams  dried  the 
family  wash,  and  Mrs.  Monroe's  little  daughters  played.  Its 
9 


138  AT  A  PRESIDENT'S  RECEPTION. 

decorations  are  frequently  renewed,  to  conform  to  ever- 
changing  fashion.  The  introduction  of  electric  lighting  in 
the  squares  of  the  magnificent  ceiling  has  greatly  enhanced 
the  beauty  of  the  room. 

Public  receptions  are  held  in  the  East  Room,  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  have  passed  through  it  to  pay  their  re- 
spects to  the  President.  The  late  ex-President  Benjamin 
Harrison  says:  "The  President's  popular  receptions  begin 
the  next  day  after  his  inauguration,  and  are  continued  for 
a  good  many  days  without  much  regard  to  hours.  When 
the  great  East  Room  fills  up  he  goes  down  and  takes  his 
station  near  the  door  of  exit.  The  head  usher  introduces 
some  who  are  known  or  who  make  their  names  known  to 
him,  but  generally  the  visitors  make  known  their  own  names 
to  the  President,  or  pass  with  a  hand-shake  without  any  in- 
troduction—  often  at  the  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  to  the  min- 
ute. In  the  first  three  weeks  of  an  administration  he  shakes 
hands  with  from  40,000  to  60,000  persons.  The  physical 
drain  of  this  is  very  great,  and  if  the  President  is  not  an 
instructed  hand-shaker  a  lame  arm  and  a  swollen  hand  soon 
result.  This  may  be  largely,  or  entirely,  avoided  by  using 
President  Hayes's  method  —  take  the  hand  extended  to  you 
and  grip  it  before  your  hand  is  gripped.  It  is  the  passive 
hand  that  gets  hurt.  The  interest  which  multitudes  attach 
to  a  hand-shake  with  the  President  is  so  great  that  people 
will  endure  the  greatest  discomfort  and  not  a  little  peril  to 
life  or  limb  to  attain  it.  These  are  not  the  office  seekers, 
but  the  unselfish,  honest- hearted,  patriotic  people,  whose 
6  God  bless  you '  is  a  prayer  and  a  benediction.  They  come 
out  to  meet  the  President  when  he  takes  a  journey,  and  his 
contact  with  them,  and  their  affectionate  interest  in  him,  re- 
vive his  courage  and  elevate  his  purposes.  Mr.  Lincoln  is 
said  to  have  called  these  popular  receptions  his  '  public 
opinion  baths.'"  The  arrangement  of  the  line  is  usually 
such  that  one  comes  squarely  in  front  of  the  President  be- 


INAUGURATION  VISITORS.  141 

fore  he  is  aware  of  it,  or  has  had  time  to  collect  his  thoughts 
and  recall  the  nice  things  he  was  to  say ;  like  the  old  lady 
who  was  so  surprised  as  to  be  speechless  till  she  had  passed 
some  distance  along,  when  she  turned  and  screamed  out  to 
President  McKinley,  "How's  Cubey?" 

During  inauguration  week  the  rush  of  visitors  to  the 
White  House  averages  over  1,000  a  day,  and  on  the  day 
preceding  inauguration  the  number  frequently  swells  to 
over  3,000.  It  is  often  difficult  to  keep  them  out  of  the 
executive  offices  and  the  President's  private  apartments. 
Attendants  are  stationed  at  the  doors  of  forbidden  rooms, 
and  it  requires  all  their  persuasive  skill  to  convince  people 
that  they  are  not  permitted  to  cross  the  threshold.  The 
White  House  attendants  are  Chesterfields  of  politeness,  and 
the  visitor  must  be  aggressive  and  persistent  indeed  who  is 
not  kept  within  proper  limits  without  having  his  sensibilities 
wounded. 

The  great  desire  of  a  majority  of  visitors  to  the  White 
House  is  to  see  the  President,  and  many  are  the  excuses 
made  and  the  subterfuges  resorted  to  to  accomplish  this 
object.  Scores  of  visitors  claim  to  have  been  boyhood 
-friends  of  the  President,  and  are  very  sure  he  will  be  sorely 
disappointed  should  they  leave  the  city  without  calling  on 
him.  They  assure  the  officials  that  they  want  only  a  mo- 
ment of  the  President's  time,  merely  desire  to  shake  his  hand 
and  offer  congratulations.  Some  of  them  have  been  known 
to  become  very  indignant  because  an  usher  dared  to  presume 
to  stand  between  them  and' their  friend  of  former  days,  and 
threats  have  often  been  made  that  their  rash  impertinence 
would  be  called  to  the  President's  attention  forthwith. 

Women  visitors  are  the  most  persistent  and  give  the 
most  trouble.  Some  of  them  plead  for  just  a  glimpse  of 
Mrs.  President,  but  being  assured  that  this  is  impossible 
they  sometimes  seek  to  compromise  by  asking  permission  to 
peep  at  the  White  House  kitchen. 


142  WEDDINGS  AT  THU  WHITE   HOUSE. 

On  a  reception  night,  the  East  Boom  presents  a  sight 
never  to  be  forgotten.  The  enormous  chandeliers  seem  to 
pour  the  splendor  of  noonday  light  upon  the  glittering  as- 
semblage below.  Foreign  ministers  and  their  attaches  in 
all  the  gorgeousness  of  their  court  dress;  officers  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  in  full  uniform;  and  the  rich  costumes 
and  dazzling  jewels  of  the  ladies,  make  these  receptions 
scarcely  less  brilliant  than  society  functions  at  the  richest 
courts  of  Europe. 

There  have  been  many  weddings  in  the  White  House. 
The  first  was  during  President  Madison's  administration, 
when  Miss  Todd,  a  relative  of  Mrs.  Madison,  was  the  bride 
and  John  G.  Jackson  of  Virginia,  who  was  then  a  member 
of  Congress,  was  the  groom.  The  first  wedding  that  took 
place  in  the  East  Room  was  that  of  Elizabeth  Tyler,  whose 
father  was  then  President,  and  William  Waller  of  Williams- 
burg,  Ya.  Miss  Tyler  was  just  nineteen,  as  was  also  Nellie 
Grant  when  married.  President  Adams'  son,  John  Quincy, 
Jr.,  married  his  cousin,  Miss  Johnson,  in  the  White  House  in 
President  Adams'  administration.  During  ^ General  Jack- 
son's administration  there  were  two  weddings  in  the  White 
House  —  Miss  Easten,  his  niece,  and  Mr.  Polk  of  Tennessee, 
and  Miss  Lewis  of  Nashville  and  Mr.  Paqueol,  who  was 
afterward  French  minister  to  this  country.  The  wedding  of 
Martha  Monroe  and  Samuel  Gouverneur,  who  was  for  a  while 
President  Monroe's  private  secretary,  took  place  in  the  East 
Room,  and  the  bride  was  only  seventeen.  The  wedding  of 
Nellie  Grant  and  Algernon  Sarf  oris  was  the  most  brilliant 
one  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  the  White  House.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  in  the  East  Room,  under  an  im- 
mense floral  bell.  There  were  six  bridesmaids  and  a  dis- 
tinguished company.  It  was  a  morning  wedding,  and  Gen- 
eral Grant  gave  away  his  daughter  with  tearful  eyes  and  ill- 
concealed  emotion.  During  President  Hayes'  term,  his 
niece,  Miss  Emily  Platt,  and  Gen.  Russell  Hastings  were 


FESTIVALS  AND  FUNERALS.  143 

married  in  the  Blue  Room,  which  was  beautifully  decorated 
with  flowers,  and  here  also  the  bride  stood  under  a  large 
floral  bell.  Though  the  wedding  of  Grover  Cleveland  and 
Miss  Frances  Folsom  was  the  ninth  that  occurred  in  the 
White  House,  it  was  the  first  wedding  of  a  President  that 
took  place  there.  President  Tyler,  who  was  married  during 
his  term  of  office,  went  to  the  home  of  his  bride,  Miss  Gard- 
ner, in  New  York,  for  the  ceremony,  and  the  marriage  of 
Ex-President  Benjamin  Harrison  to  his  second  wife,  who  was 
his  first  wife's  niece,  was  performed  in  New  York. 

But  other  scenes  than  those  of  happiness  and  mirth  have 
taken  place  in  the  White  House.  The  black  pall  of  mourn- 
ing has  cast  its  somber  shadow  here,  and  the  stillness  of 
death  has  often  pervaded  every  room  and  corridor.  Here 
the  venerable  President  William  Henry  Harrison  died  sud- 
denly, soon  after  his  inauguration,  the  victim  of  a  bitter 
campaign  and  a  horde  of  office  seekers.  Here  Mrs.  John 
Tyler  passed  through  death  unto  life,  and  here  President 
Zachary  Taylor  died.  Few  persons  remember  that  the  body 
of  the  gallant  Col.  Ellsworth,  one  of  the  early  victims  of  the 
Civil  War,  who  was  killed  in  Alexandria  while  tearing  down 
a  Confederate  flag  which  floated  above  a  hotel  in  that  city, 
was  taken  to  the  White  House  and  laid  in  state  in  the  Blue 
Room.  In  the  White  House,  Willie,  the  little  son  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  died,  and  the  grief-stricken  mother  never  again 
entered  either  the  Guests'  Room,  where  her  boy  breathed 
his  last,  nor  the  Green  Room,  where  lay  his  mortal  re- 
mains, covered  with  flowers,  awaiting  their  journey  to  the 
grave.  Later,  in  the  center  of  the  great  East  Room,  upon 
a  white  catafalque,  lay,  still  and  cold  in  death,  the  body  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  supreme  martyr  of  freedom.  The 
crowd  pressing  in  then,  with  almost  silent  tread  and  bowed 
heads,  how  different  from  the  gay  throng  that  gathers  here 
on  state  occasions !  Black  and  white,  old  and  young,  rich 
and  poor,  alike  bereft,  laid  their  tributes  on  his  bier  and 


144  SCENES  OF  SUFFERING  AND  SORROW. 

wept  for  him  —  one,  only  one,  if  the  most  august,  of  the 
martyrs  of  liberty.  Father,  mother  and  son  now  sleep  side 
by  side  in  the  cemetery  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  The  funeral 
of  Mrs.  Grant's  father,  Col.  F.  F.  Dent,  was  held  in  the 
White  House. 

Even  in  the  midst  of  mirthful  scenes  in  this  historic 
house  death  has  stalked  in,  an  unwelcome  and  unbidden 
guest.  In  1883,  the  dean  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  Mr. 
Allen,  minister  from  Hawaii,  had  but  just  extended  his  con- 
gratulations and  shaken  hands  with  President  Arthur,  when 
he  sank  to  the  floor  and  expired.  The  presence  of  death  in 
the  midst  of  such  a  gay  scene  startled  every  one.  In  an  in- 
stant the  music  of  the  Marine  Band  was  stopped,  the  receiv- 
ing party,  led  by  the  President,  withdrew,  the  guests  van- 
ished, the  White  House  was  closed,  and  the  silence  of  death 
succeeded  the  merriment  of  holiday  greetings.  In  1890  the 
Washington  home  of  Benjamin  F.  Tracy,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  his  wife  and  daughter  per- 
ished in  the  flames.  President  Harrison  directed  that  the 
remains  of  mother  and  daughter  be  brought  to  the  White 
House.  Their  caskets  were  placed  side  by  side  in  the  center 
of  the  East  Room,  from  whence,  after  the  funeral,  they 
were  carried  through  the  long  corridor  out  under  the  front 
portico,  where  both  ladies  had  so  often  entered  the  White 
House  to  participate  in  brilliant  social  functions.  Little  did 
President  Harrison  then  dream  that  the  next  funeral  in  the 
East  Room  would  be  that  of  his  wife.  She  died  in  1892 
after  months  of  patient  suffering,  in  the  same  chamber 
where  President  Garfield  had  so  long  battled  for  life,  and  in 
the  following  month  her  father,  Rev.  Dr.  Scott,  died,  and 
was  buried  from  the  White  House. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DAILY  LIFE  AND   SCENES   AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE— SOCIAL 

CUSTOMS  AND  ETIQUETTE  — THE    PRESIDENT'S 

DOMESTIC  ARRANGEMENTS. 

Official  Entertainment  at  the  White  House —  Social  Customs  —  Daily  Life 
and  Scenes—"  His  High  Mightiness "— Only  Plain  "Mr.  President" 

—  The  President's  Turnout  — Why  His  Horses'  Tails  Are  Not  Docked 

—  Public    Receptions  —  Five    Thousand   Decorative    Plants  —  State 
Dinners  —  Who  Are  Invited  —  Their  Cost  —  The  Table  and  its  Costly 
Furnishings  —  Decorating  the  Table  —  A  Mile  of  Smilax  —  Rare  China 
and  Exquisite  Cut  Glass — Who  Pays  for  the   Dinners — How  the 
Guests  Are  Seated  —  Guests  Who  Are  Not  Well-bred  —  In  the  Attic 
of  the  White  House  — What  May  Be  Seen  There  — ' '  Home  Comforts  ' 

—  Selecting  a  New  Outfit  of  Linen  —  A  Requisition  for  "  Soap  for  the 
Bath  Room"— Paying  the  Bills— Who  Furnishes  the  Kettles  and 
Saucepans?  —  How  the  White  House  Is  Guarded  —  Automatic  Alarm 
Signals  —  A  New  Executive  Mansion. 


FFICIAL  entertainment  at  the  White  House 
remains  much  the  same  from  one  administration 
to  another.  Like  everything  else  in  official  life, 
it  falls  naturally  into  a  system,  and  those  who 
are  invested  with  the  responsibilit}^  of  managing  the 
system  are  not  easily  persuaded  that  changes  are 
either  possible  or  desirable.  Certain  things  are  done  in 
a  certain  way  because  they  always  have  been  done  in  that 
manner.  The  President  has  troubles  enough  without 
embarking  upon  any  crusade  against  long-established  pre- 
cedents of  White  House  social  customs,  and  he  knows  he 
can  at  least  escape  criticism  in  this  one  thing  if  he  lets  it 
alone. 

(145) 


146  SOCIAL  REQUIREMENTS. 

Still,  each  Presidential  household  has  modified  in  some 
degree  the  customs  of  the  White  House  to  suit  its  own 
tastes  and  habits.  General  Grant  broke  through  the  tra- 
ditional etiquette  which  forbade  a  President  to  make  visits. 
Formerly  a  President  saw'  the  inside  of  no  house  but 
his  own,  and  was  in  a  way  a  prisoner  during  his  term  of 
office.  He  could  drive  out  or  go  to  a  theater,  but  he  could 
not  make  a  social  call,  or  attend  a  reception  at  a  friend's 
house.  Now  he  is  free  to  go  to  weddings  and  parties,  make 
calls,  and  dine  out.  The  tendency  of  White  House  customs 
is  toward  less  formality,  and  more  ease  and  freedom  of 
social  intercourse,  rather  than  in  the  other  direction ;  and 
this  is  remarkable  at  a  time  when  our  new  moneyed  aristoc 
racy  is  aping  the  manners  of  courts  and  surrounding  itself 
with  liveried  flunkies. 

Much  of  the  best  of  White  House  sociability  is  found 
at  informal  dinners  and  lunches,  at  which  only  a  few  guests 
are  present  with  the  President's  family,  and  at  evenings  "  at 
home,"  for  which  no  cards  are  sent  out.  Then  there  is  con- 
versation and  music,  and  one  may  meet  many  famous  men 
with  their  wives  and  daughters. 

Daily  life  and  social  customs  at  the  White  House  lie 
between  two  dangerous  extremes.  The  entertaining  must, 
so  far  as  it  can,  impress  the  representatives  of  foreign  coun- 
tries and  certain  of  his  own  people  with  the  President's 
dignity  and  hospitality  without  shocking  the  democratic 
ideas  of  a  large  class  of  American  citizens.  While  many 
will  criticise  the  apparent  lack  of  exclusiveness,  a  much 
larger  number  would  be%  ready  to  cry  out  against  any 
too  exclusive  tendency,  and  demagogues  would  at  once 
stand  ready  to  warn  the  country  of  the  dangerous  approach 
of  imperialism,  even  if  the  whole  executive  branch  of  the 
government,  the  President's  salary  included,  costs  but 
$150,000  a  year.  These  considerations  were  gravely  dis- 
cussed at  the  very  beginning  of  the  government,  and  the 


WASHINGTON'S  PERPLEXITIES.  149 

Father  of  his  Country  was  compelled  to  give  earnest  consid- 
eration to  them.  Mc'Master  says :  "  While  the  House  was 
busy  debating  by  what  name  the  President  should  be  called, 
Washington  was  troubled  to  know  in  what  manner  he 
'should  behave."  To  solve  his  difficulties  he  framed  a  set  of 
questions  and  submitted  them  to  Jay,  Hamilton,  and  Adams. 
"Should  he  keep  open  house  after  the  manner  of  the  Presi- 
dents of  Congress ;  or  would  it  be  enough  to  give  a  feast  on 
such  great  days  as  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  thirtieth  of 
November,  and  the  fourth  of  March  ?  Would  one  day  in 
the  week  be  sufficient  to  receive  visits  of  compliment? 
What  would  be  said  if  he  were  sometimes  to  be  seen  at 
quiet  tea-parties  ?  When  Congress  adjourned,  should  he  make 
a  tour  ? "  The  difficulty  then  was  the  novelty  of  republi- 
canism. There  were  no  precedents  in  all  the  governments 
of  the  world.  It  was  Washington's  idea  that  an  excess  of 
familiarity  should  be  avoided  for  the  sake  of  his  official 
dignity,  but  he  warned  against  using  any  exalted  titles. 
Some  wished  the  title  of  the  President  to  be  "  His  High 
Mightiness,"  but  the  plain  title  of  "  Mr.  President "  pre- 
vailed. The  system  of  entertainment  at  the  White  House 
was  the  result  of  a  compromise  between  the  two  extremes, 
and  being  .  once  established  it  maintains  its  hold.  The 
President  is  a  potentate  who  can  not  with  safety  make  the 
rules  of  his  own  household  —  not  even  of  the  stable 
which  he  pays  for.  He  must  drive  behind  horses  whose 
tails  are  not  docked,  and  his  coachman  must  not  be  put  in 
livery.  When  you  see  a  stylish  liveried  turnout  on  the 
streets  of  Washington  some  day,  therefore,  you  may  know 
it  is  not  the  President's. 

In  all  his  entertainments  the  President  and  the  mistress 
of  the  White  House  are  in  the  hands  of  attaches  —  the 
cog  wheels  of  the  system.  They  know  how  to  make 
matters  jog  along  in  the  same  old  way  while  Presidents 
come  and  go.  The  rigidity  of  the  system  is  well  illustrated 


150         ELABORATE  FLORAL  DECORATIONS. 

by  the  decorations,  which  must  not  simply  be  just  as  elab- 
orate but  just  the  same  for  a  public  reception  as  they  are 
for  a  reception  to  the  heir  apparent  of  a  foreign  throne,  or 
the  President  of  France,  or  for  a  marriage  in  the  President's 
family.  If  you  have  seen  the  great  East  Room  decorated 
once,  you  have  seen  it  as  it  is  decorated  always.  It  is  a 
rare  sight,  too,  consisting  of  5,000  decorative  plants  varying 
from  giant  palms  twenty-five  feet  high  to  ferns  in  three- 
inch  pots ;  and  they  always  appear  just  the  same,  so  that 
one  might  easily  imagine  that,  having  reached  this  par- 
ticular growth,  these  accommodating  plants  just  stopped 
growing  in  order  to  be  always  in  readiness  for  decorating 
the  East  Room.  On  one  occasion  these  5,000  decorative 
plants  were  made  up  of  200  palms,  500  brilliant  crotons,  200 
pandanus,  400  marantas,  200  draca3nas,  1,000  miscellaneous 
plants,  and  1,000  flowering  plants  and  ferns.  About  a  mile 
of  smilax  is  used.  For  the  mantels,  window  seats,  etc.,  are 
used  about  2,000  azalea  blossoms,  800  carnations,  300  roses, 
300  tulips,  900  hyacinths,  400  lilies  of  the  valley,  200 
bouvardias,  100  sprays  of  asparagus  fern,  forty  heads 
of  poinsettia,  and  200  small  ferns.  Only  a  portion  of  these 
decorations  come  from  the  "White  House  conservatory.  In 
winter  most  of  them  are  brought  in  heated  vans  from 
the  propagating  gardens,  which  are  in  the  charge  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  and 
who  by  law  must  be  an  Engineer  Officer  of  the  United 
States  Army  detailed  for  that  duty. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  cost  of  an  elaborate  state  dinner, 
were  the  decorations  furnished  by  an  outside  florist,  would 
be  about  $2,500;  for,  besides  the  usual  decorations  of  the 
rooms,  are  the  costly  decorations  of  the  table.  In  front  of 
the  President  is  sometimes  a  plat  sixteen  feet  long,  made  up 
of  orchids  and  ferns,  and  at  intervals  nine  other  plats  simi- 
larly decorated,  and  sixteen  vases  filled  with  roses,  one  in 
every  four  feet.  About  twenty  dozen  orchids,  as  many 


8 

c 
S.    ffi 

3  5 


P    § 


ALLEGED   EXTRAVAGANCES.  151 

roses,  and  five  hundred  pots  of  ferns  are  generally  used  to 
decorate  the  table. 

The  President  puts  a  sum  into  the  hands  of  the  steward, 
and  his  expenditure  is  supposed  to  be  in  proportion  to  the 
official  rank  and  grandeur  of  the  invited  guests.  The  gov- 
ernment pays  an  experienced  and  capable  steward  for  his 
services,  but  the  President  pays  for  the  dinners,  which  are 
generally  prepared  by  the  White  House  chef  and  his  assist- 
ants. Sometimes,  however,  an  experienced  caterer  is  called 
in  on  special  occasions,  and  sometimes  he  is  engaged  by  the 
season.  During  the  years  immediately  after  the  Civil  War 
it  was  fashionable  to  have  many  courses,  frequently  num- 
bering twenty  or  thirty!  But  now  they  rarely  exceed 
twelve,  and  more  often  do  not  exceed  eight.  The  laying  of 
the  table,  and  its  decorations,  is  simply  a  matter  of  taste 
displayed  by  those  in  charge,  who  make  such  things  a  study 
and  who  are  always  ambitious  that  every  decoration  shall 
be  considered  more  beautiful,  every  dinner  more  delicious, 
than  its  predecessors.  To  Mr.  Yan  Buren  belongs  the 
credit  of  greatly  improving  the  appointments  of  the  Presi- 
dent's table,  and  for  so  doing  he  paid  the  penalty  of  being 
criticised  by  the  demagogues  for  his  extravagance.  The 
famous  mirror  which  is  laid  through  the  center  of  the  table, 
with  its  gilt  filagree  around  the  edge,  and  upon  which  the 
flowers  and  other  decorations  are  set,  doubling  their  effect- 
iveness by  reflection, — this  and  the  gold  spoons,  raised  a 
great  cry  against  what  was  denounced  as  royal  extrava- 
gance. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  mirror  is  a  simple  affair  and 
the  spoons  are  nothing  more  than  silver  with  gold  plate. 
Nothing  belonging  to  the  Executive  Mansion  can  be  called 
magnificent  or  in  any  way  comparable  to  that  of  many  private 
homes. 

The  table,  laden  with  a  rare  display  of  plate,  porcelain, 
and  cut-glass,  presents  a  beautiful  appearance.  The  set  of 
cut-glass  is  regarded  as  the  finest  ever  made  in  this  country. 


152  A  COMPLICATED   AFFAIR. 

It  consists  of  520  separate  pieces,  and  was  especially  ordered 
for  the  White  House.  On  each  piece,  from  the  large  center- 
piece and  punch-bowl  to  the  tiny  saltcellars,  is  engraved  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  United  States.  Several  months  were 
occupied  in  making  this  set,  which  cost  $6,000.  The  china, 
numbering  1,500  pieces,  was  selected  by  Mrs.  Hayes  from 
special  designs.  Each  piece  is  exquisitely  decorated  with 
paintings  of  American  flowers,  fruits,  game,  birds,  and  fish. 
The  table  can  be  made  to  accommodate  as  many  as  fifty- 
four  persons,  but  the  usual  number  of  guests  is  from  thirty 
to  forty. 

The  seating  of  guests  at  a  state  dinner  is  one  of  the  com- 
plicated tasks  in  the  hands  of  the  attaches.  One  of  the 
Executive  secretaries,  who  has  for  a  long  time  attended  to 
such  matters,  has  a  cardboard  plan  of  the  table  with  little 
slits  for  each  seat.  Certain  inexorable  rules  of  precedence 
and  pairing  off  have  to  be  followed,  and  one  of  the  perma- 
nent officials  of  the  State  Department  makes  it  a  business  to 
be  expert  in  these.  Seating  always  begins  with  the  Presi- 
dent, who  sits  at  the  middle  of  the  north  side  of  the  table 
with  the  wife  of  the  dean  of  the  diplomatic  corps  at  his 
right.  The  lady  of  the  White  House  sits  opposite  the  Pres- 
ident. The  others  are  placed  according  to  precedence,  and 
alternating  with  reference  to  the  President  and  his  wife. 
When  the  seating  is  definitely  arranged,  table  cards  for  the 
gentlemen  are  prepared  by  writing  in  the  corner  the  name 
of  the  lady  to  be  escorted  in,  and  checking  off  with  a  pencil 
the  chair  numbers  printed  on  the  edges  of  the  small  dia- 
gram of  the  table  which  is  given  to  each  guest.  The  name 
of  each  guest  is  also  written  on  plate  cards  having  a  gilt 
crest  of  the  United  States,  which  is  also  used  on  the  sta- 
tionery for  state  occasions.  There  are  often  curious 
arrangements  at  such  dinners,  as  for  example  when  the 
Chinese  minister  and  his  wife  are  out  of  supporting  distance 
of  each  other,  and  can  convey  only  by  smiles  and  signs  the 


A   STATE   DINNER.  155 

enjoyment  they  feel,  unless,  forsooth,  they  both  speak  Eng- 
lish, as  often  happens. 

After  receiving  their  guests  in  the  Blue  or  East  Room, 
the  number  of  guests  governing  as  to  which  is  used,  the 
leader  of  the  Marine  Band  is  given  the  signal,  and  instantly 
the  band  begins  to  play  a  selected  march.  The  President 
now  offers  his  arm  to  the  ranking  lady  and  they  proceed 
through  the  East  Room  and  the  corridor  to  the  state  din- 
ing-room, followed  according  to  precedence,  the  lady  of  the 
White  House  with  her  escort  bringing  up  the  rear.  Exqui- 
site finesse  is  needed  to  fitly  pair  these  mentally  incongruous 
diners.  Many  men  officially  entitled  to  White  House 
dinner  invitations  are  either  not  accomplished  or  are  ill 
adapted  to  the  usages  of  good  society.  Naturally  the  wives 
of  such  men  are  equally  unsuited  to  their  positions,  conse- 
quently between  timidity  and  ignorance  they  make  very 
uninteresting  table  companions.  I  have  known  persons 
famous  for  their  conversational  powers  to  be  unable  through 
a  two  hburs  state  dinner  to  elicit  more  than  monosyllables 
from  their  partners,  who  were  ill  at  ease,  and  no  doubt 
heartily  glad  when  the  dinner  was  over. 

On  the  contrary,  nothing  'could  be  more  enjoyable  than 
a  state  dinner,  provided  one  has  an  agreeable  associate,  the 
beauty  of  the  accessories  awakening  and  maintaining  the 
vivacity  and  high  spirits  of  the  dullest,  if  they  are  not  hope- 
lessly dead  to  pleasant  surroundings.  A  state  dinner  is  a 
function  of  a  social  character,  and  an  invitation  to  it  should 
be  deemed  the  highest  compliment  that  the  President  can 
pay  to  any  one.  Full  evening  dress  is  required,  and  guests 
who  do  not  realize  that  they  owe  it  to  the  President  and  to 
themselves  to  make  their  best  appearance  on  such  an  occa- 
sion may  write  themselves  down  as  bores.  Few  ladies  would 
have  the  moral  courage  to  appear  in  anything  but  their  best 
gowns  and  rarest  jewels ;  hence  it  follows  that  state  dinners 
at  the  White  House  are  very  brilliant  affairs. 


156  THE  NEW  YEAR'S  RECEPTION. 

Formerly  the  President  was  expected  to  invite  each 
Senator  and  Member  of  Congress  to  dinner  at  least  once 
a  year;  but  as  the  two  Houses  increased  in  numbers  this 
custom  gradually  fell  into  disuse.  He  is  supposed  to  have 
discharged  his  social  duties  if,  in  a  single  season,  his 
dinner  invitations  include  the  Vice- President,  the  Justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  the 
foreign  ministers,  the  more  influential  Senators  and  Mem- 
bers of  Congress,  and  distinguished  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy. 

The  New  Year's  entertainment  is  the  most  character- 
istically American  of  the  season.  Every  grade  of  society  is 
represented,  and  the  same  hand  stretched  out  to  welcome 
the  courtly  low-bowing  Ambassador  shakes  the  hands  of 
the  humble,  sometimes  uncouth,  laboring  man.  The  long 
line  begins  to  form  by  the  western  entrance  early  in  the 
morning  and  by  11  o'clock  generally  reaches  several  blocks 
away.  Meanwhile  the  Cabinet  officers  and  the  members  of 
the  diplomatic  corps  are  admitted  to  the  house  by  the  south 
entrance  and  assemble  in  the  Red  Room  and  the  corridor. 
At  11  o'clock,  as  the  bugle  from  the  Marine  Band  stationed 
in  the  conservatory  sounds  the  President's  call,  the  receiving 
party  makes  its  appearance  at  the  head  of  the  great  stair- 
way  headed  by  the  military  officers  detailed  to  make  the 
introductions.  The  President  and  his  wife  follow,  and  then 
the  Yice-President  and  his  wife  and  the  Cabinet  and  ladies. 
Passing  into  the  Blue  Room  the  receiving  party  takes  its 
place  and  the  long  line  begins  to  file  past. 

The  diplomatic  corps  is  the  brilliant  feature  of  the  recep- 
tion. There  are  ambassadors  in  uniforms  heavy  with  gold 
trimming  and  blazing  with  orders  and  decorations ;  at- 
taches, some  in  white  and  gold-laced  uniforms  and  high 
boots;  the  Oriental  legations  in  characteristic  costumes. 
After  them  pass  the  Supreme  Court  justices,  senators,  repre- 
sentatives, and  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  in  full  dress. 


HOW   SUPPLIES  ARE  ORDERED.  15? 

then  veterans  of  the  Civil  War,  followed  by  the  general 
public.  The  music  is  continuous. 

The  attic  of  the  White  House  is  stored  full  of  old  furni- 
ture, for  each  new  occupant  is  apt  to  have  ideas  of  his  own 
about  the  furnishing.  Even  if  the  President  does  not  care, 
his  wife  generally  wants  a  few  changes  made,  and  she  has 
only  to  express  her  desire.  The  attic  also  holds  a  motley 
collection  of  articles  which  are  sent  as  presents,  and  which 
neither  the  President  nor  his  wife  know  what  to  do  with. 
Now  and  then  a  President's  wife  buys  a  new  outfit  of 
linen,  and  of  course  she  selects  the  finest  for  the  Executive 
Mansion,  and  very  properly  it  is  charged  to  the  appropria- 
tion made  for  such  purposes.  Under  the  law  the  building 
and  its  contents  are  in  charge  of  an  officer  selected  from  the 
Engineer  Corps  of 'the  Army.  Under  him  is  the  steward  of 
the  White  House,  who  personally  inspects  much  of  the  sup- 
plies, etc.  If  the  President  wishes  a  dictionary,  or  his  wife 
soap  for  the  bath-room,  the  steward  makes  a  formal  requisi- 
tion. When  the  goods  arrive,  he  inspects  them  and  receipts 
for  them.  The  engineer  officer  in  charge  also  gives  his  per- 
sonal attention  and  certifies  that  the  purchases  are  "  proper 
and  necessary,"  are  "  received  in  good  order  "  and  that  the 
prices  are  "  just  and  reasonable,"  and  pays  the  bill. 

The  steward  has  charge  of  the  kitchen  and  pantry  and 
takes  his  orders  from  the  mistress  of  the  house.  The  gov- 
ernment pays  him  $1,800  a  year.  While  all  the  supplies 
like  kettles  and  saucepans  are  paid  for  by  the  government, 
the  President  must  pay  for  all  the  food  and  also  for  the 
cook,  the  chambermaid,  and  the  butler.  The  government 
provides  a  stable,  but  leaves  the  President  to  furnish  his  own 
horses  and  pay  for  taking  care  of  them.  There  seems  to  be 
no  reason  why  he  should  do  all  these  things  except  that 
it  always  has  been  so. 

The  White  House  is  guarded  only  by  a  force  of  watch- 
men. Special  police  officers  are  always  on  duty  outside  the 


158  AN  INCONVENIENT  RESIDENCE. 

house  at  all  hours,  and  a  continuous  patrol  is  maintained  by 
the  local  police  of  the  grounds  immediately  surrounding  the 
mansion.  Automatic  alarm  signals  are  fixed  in  different 
parts  of  the  House,  and  telephones  and  telegraphs  are  con- 
nected with  police  stations,  so  that  a  strong  force  of  police 
could  be  obtained  almost  at  a  moment's  notice. 

From  the  great  portico  of  this  famous  house  we  look 
across  Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  an  equestrian  statue  of 
Jackson,  his  horse  rearing  frantically  in  the  center  of 
Lafayette  Square.  Beyond  its  trees  we  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  brown  ivy-hung  walls  of  St.  John's  venerable  church, 
its  slender,  old-time  tower  showing  so  picturesquely  against 
the  sky. 

The  avenue  of  lofty  trees  on  the  west  side  of  the  White 
House  —  beneath  whose  shade,  in  the  dimness  of  the  night, 
Lincoln  used  to  take  his  solitary  walk,  and  carry  his  heavy 
heart  to  the  War  Department  —  were  planted  by  John 
Quincy  Adams.  No  swelling  tree-crowned  knolls,  no  grassy 
glades  could  be  more  restful  to  the  sight  than  the  southern 
grounds  of  the  White  House.  Its  windows  look  down  upon 
this  rolling  park,  reaching  to  the  Potomac,  bounded  by  its 
placid  waters,  on  which  many  boats  lazily  drift,  their  white 
sails  idly  flapping  in  the  languid  summer  air. 

The  inadequateness  of  the  White  House  as  a  residence 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  long  been  recog- 
nized. It  is  inconvenient  and  ill -adapted  to  such  dignity  and 
occasions  of  public  ceremony  as  the  nation  demands  of  its 
Chief.  There  is  no  adequate  accommodation  for  visitors,  so 
that  guests  of  the  nation  must  be  sent  to  a  hotel.  Many 
suggestions,  and  more  or  less  elaborate  plans  have  been 
made  for  a  new  and  proper  President's  residence  which 
should  be  entirely  separate  from  the  Executive  offices. 

The  late  Mrs.  Benjamin  Harrison,  during  the  incum- 
bency of  her  husband  as  President  of  the  United  States, 
carefully  studied  this  subject,  and  plans  were  drawn  under 


MRS.  HARRISON'S  PLANS.  161 

her  direction  for  the  enlargement  of  the  present  Executive 
Mansion.  This  was  in  1892.  Nothing  has,  however,  yet 
been  done.  In  1900  Congress  made  an  appropriation  for 
developing  plans  for  the  extension  of  the  present  Executive 
Mansion  by  the  Officer  then  in  charge  of  Public  Build- 
ings and  Grounds,  Colonel  Theo.  A.  Bingham,  Engineer 
Corps,  United  States  Army.  This  Officer  called  in  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  F.  D.  Owen,  the  architect  who  had  drawn 
Mrs.  Harrison's  plans.  The  Harrison  plan  was  restudied 
and  developed  and  all  the  necessary  drawings  made,  to- 
gether with  specifications  and  a  large  model. 

At  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  establishment  of 
the  permanent  seat  of  Government  in  Washington,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1900,  the  opening  exercise  was  an  exhibition  of  this 
model  and  drawings  in  the  East  Room  of  the  Executive 
Mansion  in  the  presence  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  Senators,  Governors  and  other  prominent  and  dis- 
tinguished officials.  An  address  in  explanation  was  made 
by  Colonel  Bingham.  The  plans  excited  great  interest,  and 
although  criticised  by  some,  the  general  verdict  was  in  favor 
of  the  appropriateness  in  all  respects  of  the  plans  shown. 
Congress  has  taken  no  immediate  further  steps  in  the 
matter,  but  the  necessity  for  enlargement  of  the  Presi- 
dent's home  and  office  is  becoming  more  evident  and  more 
pressing  day  by  day,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  beautiful 
plans  above  mentioned  may  soon  have  realization,  as  it 
would  be  impossible  to  excel  them  in  the  reverence  shown 
to  the  historical  old  House,  which  is  to  remain  absolutely 
unchanged  and  untouched. 


10 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

OFFICIAL  LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  — A  DAY 
IN  THE  PRESIDENT'S  PRIVATE  OFFICE. 

Inauguration  Ceremonies  —  Old  Time  Scenes  —  A  Disorderly  Mob  in  the 
White  House  —  Muddy  Boots  on  Brocaded  Chairs  —  Overturning  the 
Punch  on  the  Carpets  —  Disgraceful  Scenes  —  The  President-Elect  — 
Taking  the  Oath  — Kissing  the  Bible  — The  Inaugural  Ball  — How 
the  Retiring  President  and  His  Wife  Depart  From  the  White  House  — 
A  Sad  Spectacle  —  Scenes  in  the  New  President's  Office — A  Crowd  of 
Office  Seekers  —  "  Swamped  "  with  Applications  —  The  Cabinet  Room 
and  Its  Historic  Table  — The  Library  —  Privileged  Callers  —  "Just 
To  Pay  My  Respects"  —  The  President's  Mail  —  Requests  for  Auto- 
graphs—  Begging  Letters — Granting  Reprieves  and  Pardons  —  An 
Interesting  Incident  —  A  Door  That  Is  Never  Closed  —  How  the  Presi- 
dent Draws  His  Pay  —  A  Deficit  of  One  Cent  —  A  Governr^rt  Check 
for  That  Amount  —  Presidential  Cares  and  Honors. 


OME  of  the  makers  of  the  Constitution  apparently 
had  a  wholesome  dread  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  might  become  a  dictator  or 
a  George  III;  yet  there  seemed  to  be  no  way 
to  make  a  government  without  an  Executive,  and 
so  he  was  carefully  hedged  about  with  restric- 
tions. He  was  made  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army 
and  navy,  but  could  not  declare  war;  that  was  for  Con- 
gress. He  could  make  treaties,  but  must  have  the  con- 
sent of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  present ;  he  was  given 
power  to  appoint  ambassadors  and  consuls,  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  all  high  federal  officers,  but  he  must 
have  the  consent  of  the  Senate ;  he  was  made  responsible 
for  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  Congress,  and  was  given 


164  AN  UNPRECEDENTED   UPROAR. 

fence  was  invented  by  a  romance-loving  Englishman,  and 
was  long  ago  exploded,  though  it  clings  tenaciously  to  life. 
The  out-door  ceremonies  were  established  with  Jackson, 
whose  enthusiastic  followers  expressed  their  disapproval 
of  anything  even  verging  upon  ceremonious  pomp  by  going 
to  the  other  extreme.  The  uproar  was  unprecedented.  It 
was  a  whirlwind  of  democracy.  The  Inauguration  cere- 
monies over,  Jackson  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  to  the 
White  House  followed  by  a  shouting  and  cheering  mob  of 
admirers.  It  had  been  announced  that  refreshments  would 
be  served  at  the  White  House.  But  the  people  crowded 
into  the  house,  overran  every  part  of  it,  stood  in  £he  bro- 
caded chairs  with  their  muddy  boots,  and  cheered,  over- 
turning the  punch  on  the  carpets;  and  they  became  so 
boisterous  that  Jackson  ordered  the  waiters  to  take  the 
punch  out  on  the  lawn  in  tubs,  to  entice  the  crowd  out  of 
the  house.  But,  as  the  waiters  appeared,  their  tubs  were 
upset  by  the  outside  mob  and  the  glasses  broken.  There 
was  a  similar,  though  not  as  disorderly  time,  when  William 
Henry  Harrison  was  inaugurated,  as  a  result  of  the  exciting 
log-cabin  campaign  of  1840: 

The  Inauguration  day  of  the  present  is  a  gala-day  for 
Washington.  The  city  is  filled  with  people.  Every  hotel 
overflows  with  guests,  and  thrifty  householders  get  almost 
any  price  they  choose  to  ask  for  renting  their  rooms. 
There  is  something  inspiring  and  uplifting  in  the  sight  of 
massed  humanity,  in  throbbing  drums  and  martial  music,  in 
waving  pennons  and  flashing  lances ;  but,  unfortunately,  at 
the  Inauguration  season  of  the  year,  enthusiasm  and 
patriotism  demand  a  fearful  price  in  nerve,  muscle, 
and  human  endurance. 

Pennsylvania  avenue  opens  before  us  —  a  broad,  straight 
vista,  with  garlands  of  flags,  of  every  nation  and  hue,  Hung 
across  from  roof  to  roof.  Frequently  the  weather  is  mer- 
cilessly cold  and  raw,  seriously  interfering  with  carrying 


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166  PRELIMINARY   CEREMONIES. 

out  a  brilliant  program.  Your  imagination  need  not  be 
Dantean  to  make  you  feel  that  there  is  a  dreadful  battle 
going  on  in  the  air,  above  you  and  around  you.  The 
windy  imps  may  come  down  and  seize  an  old  man's  hat, 
and  fly  off  with  a  woman's  veil  or  blow  a  little  boy 
into  a  cellar.  The  stronger  air-warriors,  intent  on  bigger 
spoil,  may  sweep  down  banners,  swoop  off  with  awnings, 
concentrate  their  forces  into  swirling  cyclones  in  the 
middle  of  the  streets,  and  bang  away  at  plate-glass  windows 
till  they  rattle  in  their  settings.  The  sufferings  endured 
by  parading  organizations,  and  spectators  exposed  for  hours 
to  the  pitiless  beating  of  a  cold  March  storm  on  Inaugu- 
ration day,  have  carried  many  an  imprudent  onlooker  to  a 
premature  grave. 

The  President  does  not  receive  official  notice  of  his 
election.  Usually,  he  goes  to  Washington  a  few  days 
before  Inauguration  day,  ready  to  present  himself  on  the 
4th  of  March  to  take  the  oath  of  office.  Immediately  upon 
his  arrival  he  calls  upon  the  President,  and  the  latter 
is  expected  to  return  the  call  within  an  hour.  On  the 
morning  of  Inauguration  day,  the  President-elect  goes  to 
the  White  House,  accompanied  by  the  committee  in  charge, 
where  he  joins  the  President,  and  both  are  driven  to 
the  Capitol.  At  noon,  the  President  appears  in  the  Senate 
Chamber  and  takes  the  seat  assigned  him.  A  deep  hush 
falls  on  the  throng,  there  is  a  sort  of  Judgment-Day  atmos- 
phere, yet  nothing  more  terrific  follows  than  the  voice 
of  the  Yice-President,  beginning  the  words  of  his  valedic- 
tory. Now  comes  the  new  Yice-President's  little  speech, 
then  the  oaths  of  office,  the  swearing  in  of  new  senators, 
and  the  proclamation  of  the  President  convening  an  extra 
and  immediate  session  of  the  Senate.  This  over,  all  start 
for  the  Rotunda  portico  on  the  east  side  of  the  Capitol, 
where  a  grand  stand  has  been  erected  for  the  ceremony 
of  taking  the  oath  of  office  and  delivering  the  Inaugural 


THE   INAUGURAL,   OATH.  167 

address.  From  this  platform  we  see  a  vast  mass  of  human 
beings  below,  line  on  line  of  soldiers  —  a  glittering  sea  of 
helmets ;  bayonets  flash,  plumes  wave  ;  all  tell  one  story  — 
the  love  of  military  pomp  and  parade,  the  pride  and 
patriotism  which  brings  these  soldiers  here  to  celebrate  the 
inauguration  of  their  Chief. 

On  the  platform  are  assembled  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States  and  the  Associate  Justices,  in  their  robes 
of  office,  and  usually  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
in  resplendent  uniforms,  the  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  other  dignitaries 
of  the  land ;  while  on  the  esplanade  in  front  are  gathered 
tens  of  thousands  of  spectators.  "We  can  catch  no  word 
through  the  strong  March  wind,  -yet  know  that  the  Chief 
Justice  has  administered  this  oath  which  the  Constitution 
requires  the  President-elect  to  take  before  assuming  the 
duties  of  his  high  office : 

"I  do  solemly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
will  to  the  best  of  my  ability  preserve,  protect,  and  defend 
the  Constitution  of-  the  United  States." 

The  new  President  has  sworn  to  the  oath  of  office,  ac- 
cording to  the  Constitution,  making  him  President  of  the 
United  States  for  the  ensuing  four  years.  The  Chief  Justice 
holds  forth  with  solemnity  a  large  Bible,  and  the  neAV  Presi- 
dent kisses  its  open  page.  Then  he  rises,  and  with  manu- 
script in  his  hands,  begins  to  read  his  Inaugural  address. 
This  address,  beginning  always  with  "  My  Fello\v  Citizens," 
is  of  a  popular  character,  and  is  not  usually  considered  a, 
very  important  state  paper.  That  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
perhaps  the  most  eagerly  awaited  and  the  most  important 
ever  delivered. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Inaugural  ceremonies  in  front 
of  the  Capitol,  the  newly-made  President  and  usually  the  ex- 
President  are  driven  to  the  White  House,  Avhere  the  Presi- 


168  A  SPLENDID  PAGEANT. 

dent  is  joine'd  by  his  wife,  and  both  are  usually  welcomed 
by  the  wife  of  the  retiring  President,  who  should  have  a 
luncheon  spread  in  the  family  dining-room,  but  should  with- 
draw before  it  is  served.  March  4th,  1901,  the  Committee 
arranged  a  new  and  wise  departure  by  having  a  lunch  served 
in  the  President's  room  at  the  Capitol.  After  lunching  he 
is  escorted  to  the  reviewing  stand,  erected  for  the  purpose 
in  front  of  the  White  House,  from  which  he  patiently  re- 
views the  vast  Inaugural  procession  which  is  frequently  sev- 
eral hours  in  passing.  The  vast  procession  of  military  and 
civic  organizations  marches  past  the  reviewing  stand,  till  as 
far  as  the  eyes  can  reach  one  sees  only  shining  helmets,  the 
flash  of  bayonets,  glancing  sabers,  well-mounted  officers  in 
resplendent  uniforms,  and  imposing  drum-majors  tossing 
their  batons  in  mid-air.  All  this  is  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  thunder  of  cannon,  the  deep  roll  of  the  drums,  inspiring 
strains  of  martial  music,  and  enthusiastic  cheers  from  tens 
of  thousands  of  eager  lookers-on. 

The  ceremonies  end  with  a  grand  ball.  Those  of  recent 
years  given  in  the  Pension  Office  have  been  resplendent  in 
decoration  and  appointment,  and  from  fifty  to  sixty  thousand 
dollars  have  been  expended  on  them.  This  custom  was  also 
set  by  Washington,  who  at  the  first  Inauguration  ball  danced 
the  minuet  with  Miss  Yan  Zandt,  and  cotillions  with  Mrs. 
Livingston  and  others. 

One  of  the  saddest  spectacles  connected  with  official  life 
in  Washington  is  the  hasty  removal  of  the  effects  of  an  out- 
going President,  just  before  the  fateful  fourth  of  March 
which  ends  his  power.  After  noon  of  that  day  the  family 
has  no  more  right  there  than  the  passing  stranger  on  the 
street ;  and  while  tho  cannon  are  firing  salvos  of  welcome  to 
the  new  President,  and  the  long  procession  is  moving  up 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  the  Capitol  front,  where  he  is  to  be 
inaugurated,  the  family  of  the  outgoing  President  may  be 
gathering  their  personal  effects  together  and  taking  last 


TAKING   UP  NEW   CARES  AND  DUTIES.  171 

looks  at  the  rooms  where  they  have  been  honored  and 
courted  and  flattered  for  years,  and  where  they  have  en- 
joyed the  delightful  sense  of  greatness  and  power. 

When  the  new  President  returns  from  the  Inauguration 
ball  he  is  alone  with  his  duties  and  his  responsibilities.  He 
finds  the  records  of  the  White  House  filed  away  by  fiscal 
years,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  administration  of 
Johnson,  who  considered  that  these  papers  were  his  and  took 
them  away.  But  the  new  President  has  little  time  to  look 
at  the  ^ecords  of  predecessors.  What  impresses  him  most 
are  the  stacks  of  boxes  which  begin  to  arrive,  all  filled  with 
applications  for  office.  He  is  hardly  seated  in  his  office  be- 
fore he  is  "  swamped  "  with  them.  Fortunately  there  is  a 
considerable  force  of  permanent  clerks  and  secretaries  who 
hold  their  positions  from  one  administration  to  another,  or 
during  good  behavior,  and  thus  become  accustomed  to  the 
work  and  its  requirements,  so  that  the  formidable  and  con- 
stantly-increasing number  of  applications  are  carefully  sys- 
tematized for  reference ;  but  for  a  long  time  after  an  inaugur- 
ation the  President  and  his  whole  force  work  in  to  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning  to  keep  ahead  of  the  inundation. 

From  the  hall-way  between  the  vestibule  and  the  East 
Room  there  rises  a  stairway  which  leads  to  an  ante-room 
above,  which  opens  into  a  corridor  so  wide  and  spacious  that 
it  is  really  a  large  room.  The  large  windows  at  the  end  look 
out  upon  the  Treasury  building  to  the  east.  On  the  south 
side  of  this  corridor,  which  is  provided  with  many  chairs  and 
sofas,  generally  filled  with  people  who  are  waiting  to  see  the 
President  or  his  Secretary,  are  the  President's  Room,  the 
Cabinet-room,  and  the  office  of  the  Secretary  ;  while  on  the 
other  side  are  the  offices  of  other  secretaries,  clerks,  and 
stenographers. 

The  President's  business  office  is  a  large,  plain,  comfort- 
ably-furnished apartment  next  east  of  the  Cabinet-room. 
There  is  a  door-keeper  for  the  President  and  one  for  the  Pri« 


172  A  RELIC  OF  ARCTIC  SEAS. 

vate  Secretary,  the  latter  having  been  appointed  to  his  place 
by  Lincoln.  The  President's  office  is  lined  with  cases  of 
books  of  law  and  reference.  A  large  black  walnut  table, 
surrounded  with  chairs,  stands  in  the  center  of  the  room. 
On  the  mantel  stands  a  clock  which  tells  the  time  of  day 
and  the  day  of  the  month,  and  which  is  a  thermometer  and 
barometer  besides.  Tapestry  and  lace  curtains  are  looped 
back  from  the  windows,  which  look  down  upon  the  lovely 
southern  grounds,  and  to  the  river,  gleaming  at  intervals 
through  the  foliage  beyond.  The  President's  desk  is  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  room.  In  the  center  of  the  room  is  a 
massive  oak  table  made  from  timbers  of  H.  M.  S.  Resolute, 
a  British  vessel  abandoned  in  the  Arctic  ice  while  searching 
for  Sir  John  Franklin,  in  1854,  but  recovered  by  American 
whalers.  It  is  a  gift  from  Queen  Victoria  and  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription : 

"  Her  Majesty's  ship  Resolute,  forming  part  of  the  expedition  sent  in 
search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  in  1852,  was  abandoned,  in  latitude  74°  41' 
north,  longitude  101°  22'  west,  on  15th  May,  1854.  She  was  discovered 
and  extricated  in  September,  1855,  in  latitude  67°  north,  by  Captain  Bud- 
dington,  of  the  United  States  whaler  George  Henry.  The  ship  was  pur- 
chased, fitted  out,  and  sent  to  England  as  a  gift  to  her  Majesty,  Queen 
Victoria,  by  the  President  and  people  of  the  United  States,  as  a  token  of 
good  will  and  friendship.  This  table  was  made  from  her  timbers  when  she 
was  broken  up,  and  is  presented  by  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States  as  a  memorial  of  the  courtesy  and 
loving-kindness  which  dictated  the  offer  of  the  gift  of  the  Resolute." 

The  Cabinet-room  is  just  beyond.  It  is  a  plain,  handsome 
apartment  with  a  long  table  in  the  center  of  the  room  sur- 
rounded by  arm-chairs.  It  is  used  often  as  a  waiting-room. 
On  the  walls  are  portraits  of  several  past  Presidents.  Presi- 
dents Grant,  Hayes,  and  Garfield  used  the  Cabinet-room  as 
an  office. 

The  stateliest  room  on  this  floor  is  the  library,  used  in 
Mrs.  John  Adams'  time  as  a  reception-room,  furnished  then  in 
crimson.  It  was  almost  bookless  till  Mr.  Filmore's  adminis- 


P   S 

g.8. 


THE  BUSIEST  PLACE  IN  WASHINGTON.  173 

tration,  when  it  was  fitted  up  as  a  library,  and  many  books 
were  added  during  the  administration  of  President  Bu- 
chanan. It  is  now  lined  with  heavy  black  walnut  book- 
cases. It  is  sometimes  used  by  the  President  as  an  official 
reception-room,  and  sometimes  as  an  evening  sitting-room 
for  the  Presidential  family  and  their  guests. 

The  President's  office  is  ever  the  busiest  place  in  "Wash- 
ington. When  no  one  else  works,  the  President  must.  He 
must  lay  out  a  system  to  meet  the  most  exacting  require- 
ments, knowing  full  well  that  though  a  thousand  and  one 
details  may  be  arranged  by  his  subordinates,  as  many  more 
must  pass  under  his  own  eye.  He  must  have  his  regular 
Cabinet  meetings  twice  a  week,  and  any  member  of  his 
Cabinet  must  be  free  to  call  and  consult  with  him  at  any 
time.  Senators  are  also  privileged  by  custom  to  see  him 
whenever  they  call.  If  he  sets  aside  a  certain  day  for  the 
uninterrupted  transaction  of  business,  many  callers  will 
come  to  whom  he  cannot  refuse  audience.  It  is  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  Private  Secretary  to  learn  if  the  caller  really 
has  business,  and  he  must  do  this  very  diplomatically  or  get 
the  President  into  trouble.  Rural  visitors  in  the  city  inno- 
cently call  "  just  to  pay  their  respects."  Many  come  loaded 
with  good  advice,  and  not  reaching  the  President  they  give 
it  to  the  Secretary.  About  one  thousand  letters  arrive 
every  day,  there  being  a  special  carrier  who  does  nothing 
but  run  back  and  forth  between  the  White  House  and  the 
Post-Office.  A  great  many  of  these  letters  are  for  charity, 
such  requests  sometimes  aggregating  $20,000  in  a  single 
day.  All  such  letters,  as  well  as  those  from  fond  parents 
who  have  named  their  last  boy  baby  after  the  President, 
are  turned  over  to  a  certain  clerk  who  sends  a  stereotyped 
reply.  Of  course  the  President  sees  only  a  very  small  part 
of  the  numerous  letters  addressed  to  him,  but  any  letter  of 
special  interest  or  importance  reaches  him  through  the  sec- 
retary. 


174  REQUESTS  AHD  APPEAL* 

Never  a  da}"  panes  without  numerous  requests  for  auto 
graphs.  A  card  with  an  engraving  of  the  White  House  is 
provided  for  the  purpose,  and  on  these  the  President  writes 
his  name  whenever  he  hag  the  opportunity.  Autograph  re- 
quests take  up  their  quota  of  the  Executive'*  time,  though 
he  may  sometimes  think  out  a  problem  in  diplomacy  or  de- 
cide about  a  post-office  appointmsnt  while  be  mechanically 
writes  his  name  on  the  cards.  Sometimes  be  is  requested 
to  write  his  autograph  on  patches  for  bedquilts  and  lunch 
cloths,  and  then  the  problem  becomes  more  complicated. 

Many  letters  arrive  for  the  lady  of  the  White  House 
whose  correspondence  is  attended  to  by  one  of  the  secreta 
ries.  Both  the  President  and  his  wife  are  always  besieged 
by  a  class  of  newspaper  space-writers  who  wish  to  get  from 
them  some  expressions  of  opinion  about  general  matters, 
and  especially  about  themselves  and  their  experiences. 
Many  people  appear  to  suppose  that  the  President  has  such 
an  abundance  of  time  at  his  disposal  that  he  can  be  the 
"  Great  Father "  to  everyone  in  the  country  as  well  as  to 
the  Indians  upon  their  reservations.  A  North  Carolina 
woman  wrote  to  President  Benjamin  Harrison :  "  I  have  six 
little  children  and  they  want  to  throw  me  out  of  my  house. 
I  have  nowhere  to  go.  I  want  protection."  Another  beg- 
ged him  to  pass  a  law  "  prohibiting  anybody  from  hiring  a 
prodigal  boy." 

Complete  record  books  have  to  be  kept,  one  a  register  of 
appointments,  another  of  bills  approved  or  vetoed,  another 
of  resolutions  of  inquiry,  another  of  pardon  cases,  and  so  on. 
Press  correspondents  pay  their  regular  visits,  and  the  secre- 
tary gives  them  whatever  information  the  President  con- 
siders it  wise  to  give  out. 

Senators  and  Congressmen  are  calling  constantly  in  ref- 
erence to  appointments,  for  although  under  the  Constitution 
appointments  are  made  by  the  President,  it  has  become  the 
custom  for  Senators  and  Representatives  to  consider  that 


LONG  DAYS  AND  WEAKY  HOURS.  175 

their  suggestions  should  be  followed.  Of  course  the  Presi- 
dent has  some  friends  who  have  worked  for  his  election,  and 
he  naturally  feels  under  obligations  to  do  something  for 
them  if  they  desire  office;  but  Senators  and  Members  of 
Congress  are  constantly  absorbing  more  and  more  of  the 
Presidential  patronage.  The  President,  however,  feels  it 
his  duty  to  personally  examine  into  the  qualifications  of  im- 
portant candidates,  as  the  responsibility  for  such  appoint- 
ments nominally  rests  with  him.  But  he  can  not  attend  to 
all  at  once,  and  many  a  weary  hour  passes  in  telling  one 
applicant  after  another  that  the  matter  will  be  taken  up  as 
soon  as  possible.  Thus  for  a  year  after  his  inauguration 
the  President's  time  is  taken  up  with  cares  which,  in  the 
vtry  nature  of  things,  cannot  reach  action  for  months.  In 
the  nature  of  things,  also,  he  begins  to  make  enemies  from 
the  start,  and  if  he  is  a  sensitive  man  he  has  many  a  distress- 
ing moment.  One  day  during  the  Civil  "War  a  friend 
meeting  Lincoln  observed : 

"You  look  anxious,  Mr.  President;  is  there  bad  news 
from  the  front?" 

"No,"  replied  the  President;  "it  isn't  the  war.  It's 
that  postmastership  at  Mudtown,  Ohio." 

In  his  long  days  are  dreary  hours  devoted  to  signing 
commissions,  the  dullest  kind  of  routine  work.  The  mes- 
senger takes  the  sheets  as  they  are  signed  and  spreads  them 
about  to  dry,  the  furniture  and  even  the  floor  being  often 
covered  by  them.  Next  will  arrive  a  pile  of  bills  from 
Congress,  which  have  to  be  examined  more  closely.  Then 
come  a  lot  of  applications  for  pardon  and  for  the  remission 
of  forfeited  recognizances,  which  involve  the  conscientious 
examination  of  hundreds  of  pages  of  evidence. 

The  President  has  the  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  par- 
dons for  all  offenses  against  the  United  States,  "  except  in 
cases  of  impeachment."  The  late  ex-President  Harrison,  in 
speaking  of  the  pardoning  power,  said : 


176'  THE  STORY  OF  A  REPRIEVE. 

"A  reprieve  is  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  execution 
of  a  sentence.  This  power  is  often  used  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  the  President  time  to  examine  an  application  for  a 
pardon,  or  to  enable  the  condemned  to  furnish  further  evi- 
dence in  support  of  such  an  application.  One  of  our  Presi- 
dents relates  this  incident : 

" '  An  application  for  a  pardon  in  behalf  of  a  man  con- 
demned to  death  for  murder  was  presented  to  me,  and  after 
a  careful  examination  the  application  was  denied.  On  the 
day  before  the  day  fixed  for  the  execution  I  arrived  at  the 
house  of  a  friend  on  a  visit,  and  found  that  just  before  my 
arrival  a  telegram  had  come  asking  for  a  reprieve  for  the 
condemned  man.  The  message  had  been  telephoned  to  the 
house  of  my  host  and  received  by  his  wife.  Her  sympa- 
thies, and  those  of  the  whole  household,  were  at  once  en- 
listed for  the  poor  fellow,  and  though  the  gibbet  was  over 
twelve  hundred  miles  away  the  shadow  of  it  was  over  the 
house,  and  I  was  the  hangman.  A  telegram  to  the  United 
States  Marshal,  granting  a  short  reprieve,  was  sent,  and  the 
day  of  the  execution  was  again  my  uncomfortable  secret.' 
It  is  not  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  the  power  of  life  and 
death.  No  graver  or  more  oppressive  responsibility  can  be 
laid  upon  a  public  officer.  The  power  to  pardon  includes 
the  power  to  commute  a  sentence,  that  is,  to  reduce  it. 
When  the  sentence  is  death  the  President  may  commute  it 
to  imprisonment  for  life,  or  for  any  fixed  term ;  and  when 
the  sentence  is  for  imprisonment  for  life,  or  for  a  fixed  term 
of  years,  he  may  reduce  the  term,  and  if  a  fine  is  imposed 
he  may  reduce  the  amount,  or  remit  it  altogether." 

Then  follows  a  batch  of  claims  of  United  States  mar- 
shals for  allowance  of  expenses  in  pursuing  mail  robbers 
and  other  criminals,  and  these  must  be  examined  before  ap- 
proval. From  the  Interior  Department  come  certain  curi- 
ous papers  relating  to  the  Indians ;  one  chief  may  want  per- 
mission to  have  his  children  travel  with  a  show  and  the 


MONOTONOUS  ROUTINE-WORK.  179 

President's  permission  must  be  had.  The  War  Department 
sends  in  masses  of  court-martial  records  which  he  is  sup- 
posed to  examine  to  see  if  there  are  circumstances  which 
will  permit  of  executive  clemency.  These  are  but  samples. 
It  is  all  a  dull,  monotonous  routine. 

Even  if  disposed  to  take  the  time  to  "break  away" 
for  a  few  hours  from  his  multitudinous  duties  and  cares, 
he  has  no  other  place  to  go  to.  The  door  between  his 
home  and  his  office  is  never  closed  night  or  day.  His 
family  are  continually  near  him,  but  he  misses  that  de- 
lightful and  necessary  change  which  the  busy  man  finds 
in  "going  home." 

Usually  the  President  and  his  wife  drive  in  the  after- 
noon, or  it  may  be  that  he  takes  a  prominent  visitor  or  Sen- 
ator into  his  carriage,  in  order  to  secure  a  few  moments' 
recreation  while  conferring  upon  a  matter  of  state.  In  the 
summer  he  may  go  for  a  brief  rest  to  some  quiet  mountain 
or  shore  resort,  but  his  secretaries  and  his  duties  go  along 
with  him,  and,  in  these  days  of  the  telegraph  and  the  long- 
distance telephone,  a  day  seldom  passes  when  the  President 
is  away  that  he  is  not  in  personal  communication  with  the 
White  House  or  one  of  the  Departments. 

It  may  be  wondered  how  amid  all  his  distractions  the 
President  secures  the  opportunity  to  write  his  long  mes- 
sages. The  answer  is  that  he  does  not  write  them  all. 
After  consulting  with  his  secretaries,  every  department  pre- 
pares what  it  regards  as  a  proper  statement  of  its  condition 
and  needs.  These  are  all  handed  to  the  President,  who  runs 
them  over,  adding  what  matter  he  desires.  A  message  is 
usually  one  of  the  easiest  of  his  tasks. 

The  President  is  the  only  man  in  the  pay  of  the  United 
States  who  is  not  required  to  sign  a  pay-roll.  The  cabinet 
officers  sign  the  pay-roll  of  their  respective  branches  each 
month,  their  names  appearing  at  the  head  of  the  long  lists. 
Since  the  establishment  of  the  Sub-Treasury  system  in  1846, 


180  A  CHECK  FOR  ONE   CENT. 

the  President  has  been  paid  by  check  on  the  Treasury  each 
month. 

In  order  to  make  up  exactly  the  $50,000,  or  the  yearly 
salary  of  the  President,  he  is  paid  $4,166.67  per  month  for 
eight  months  and  $4,166.66  per  month  for  four  months.  At 
the  close  of  his  term  there  is  besides  the  monthly  warrant, 
a  settlement  warrant  to  be  held  by  the  Treasury  in  proof  of 
the  President  having  received  his  full  $200,000  for  his  term. 
During  President  Cleveland's  administration  a  mistake  was 
made  in  the  monthly  warrants,  the  amount  $4,166.66  having 
been  paid  one  too  many  months,  so  that  when  the  account 
of  the  term  was  balanced  it  showed  that  Mr.  Cleveland 
was  entitled  to  ons  cent  more  than  he  had  received.  It 
made  great  commotion  in  the  book-keeping  department  and 
there  was  some  uncertainty  as  to  how  to  fix  it.  It  was 
finally  done  by  regular  "red- tape  "-processes:  another  spe- 
cial requisition  was  made  out  and  a  check  on  the  treasury 
for  one  cent  was  drawn,  signed  and  Countersigned  and 
taken  over  to  the  surprised  President,  who  had  not  discov- 
ered the  shortage  and  probably  never  would  have.  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  never  deposited  the  check  but  kept  it  as  a 
curious  memento  of  his  office. 

If  the  office  of  the  President  has  its  cares,  its  drudgery 
and  its  perplexities,  it  has  also  its  compensations.  There  is 
among  his  people  a  great  respect  for  the  office  and  a  corre- 
sponding respect  for  the  man  holding  it,  if  he  has  done 
nothing  to  degrade  it.  The  people  in  the  main  show  a  sim- 
ple and  hearty  deference  to  one  who  represents  the  majesty 
of  the  nation.  The  President  cannot  forget  that  the  people 
made  him  President,  and  the  people  do  not  forget  it.  If 
they  expect  too  much  of  him,  they  are  at  least  ready  to 
richly  honor  him.  If  he  is  perplexed  by  the  troubles  of  his 
country,  he  feels  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  with  him. 


182  EVOLUTION   OF   THE   CABINET. 

departments,  though  it  was  only  by  a  convenient  custom 
that  these  eight  high  officials  developed  into  a  well-defined 
body  called-the  Cabinet,  after  the  English  ministry  which 
it  in  no  other  way  resembles.  It  is  not  "  the  government " 
as  in  England  ;  it  is  only  "  the  administration."  Without 
the  sanction  of  either  the  Constitution  or  the  law,  therefore, 
the  Cabinet  has  become  a  permanent,  prominent,  and 
honored  feature  of  our  executive  affairs.  Under  Wash- 
ington, before  the  custom  had  developed,  the  secretaries  of 
the  department  were  regarded  not  as  his  advisers  but  sim- 
ply as  secretaries ;  indeed,  they  were  called  "  the  President's 
clerks,"  though  they  were  leading  men.  He  began  with 
only  four :  —  a  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  a  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  a  Secretary  of  War,  and  an  Attorney-Gen- 
eral; but,  while  supposed  to  be  appointed  to  arrange  the 
details  of  the  President's  commands,  such  men  as  Jefferson 
and  Hamilton  could  not  fail  to  give  their  offices  dignity  and 
importance  as  advisory  officials.  In  1798  a  Department  of 
the  Navy  was  organized  and  its  Secretary  was  invited  into 
the  President's  council.  In  1829  the  Postmaster- General 
became  a  Cabinet  officer;  in  1849  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  was  established,  followed  in  1889  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  rests  with  the  President  whether 
he  shall  make  any  of  these  officials  a  member  of  his  Cabinet 
or  whether  he  has  a  Cabinet  at  all.  No  law  declares  that 
he  must,  but  custom  is  stronger  than  the  law  at  times,  and 
in  such  matters  it  is  seldom  departed  from.  When  the  office 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  was  raised  to  one  of  the 
great  departments,  President  Benjamin  Harrison  at  once 
made  room  at  the  Cabinet  table  for  the  new  member,  the 
late  Jeremiah  Rusk  of  Wisconsin,  who  when  twitted  with 
the  fact  that  he  was  "the  tail  of  the  Cabinet,"  retorted 
that  it  would  need  a  good  tail  "  to  keep  the  flies  off  the 
administration." 


GOOD  ADVISERS  AND   HARD  WORKERS.  185 

The  first  task  of  a  newly- elected  President  is  the  selec- 
tion of  these  important  heads  of  his  administration,  and 
their  names  are  announced  at  once  after  the  inauguration, 
though  his  choice  is  generally  known  some  days  before. 
He  usually  draws  them  from  his  list  of  close  political 
friends,  and  always  from  his  own  party.  Lincoln,  facing  a 
peculiar  emergency,  selected  for  some  of  the  important 
posts  men  who  were  his  political  rivals ;  but  this  custom 
does  not  usually  prevail,  for  the  relations  between  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  secretaries  must  be  of  the  most  confidential 
nature.  Of  late  the  administration  of  affairs  has  become  so 
extended  in  scope,  and  requires  such  devotion  to  duty  and 
familiarity  with  a  variety  of  aif airs,  that  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  select  men  who  are  not  simply  good  advisers 
but  hard  workers. 

As  the  President  is  himself  responsible  for  his  adminis- 
tration of  executive  affairs  it  might  be  supposed  that  he 
could  select  his  secretaries  without  asking  questions  of  any- 
body; but  the  Senate,  in  special  session,  always  goes 
through  the  formality  of  confirming  his  nominations. 
Each  Secretary  is  subject  to  the  President's  will  in  all 
matters  relating  to  his  department.  If  there  is  a  difference 
of  opinion,  the  President  has  his  way,  and  if  the  Secretary 
is  not  disposed  to  acquiesce,  his  only  recourse  is  to  resign. 
In  practice,  however,  the  President  is  largely  guided  by  the 
information  and  advice  of  his  secretaries  in  their  respective 
departments.  Those  questions  which  concern  only  a  single 
department  are  settled  between  the  President  and  the  sec- 
retary in  charge  of  that  department ;  they  are  seldom  made 
the  subjects  of  a  discussion  by  the  whole  Cabinet,  at  whose 
meetings  only  .matters  affecting  general  policy  are  discussed. 
The  advice  of  his  secretaries  is  sought  less  because  of  their 
official  position  than  for  their  qualifications  as  practical  men 
of  affairs.  If  two  heads  are  better  than  one,  then  nine  must 
be  much  better  still. 


186  SHAPING  A  NATION'S  DESTINY. 

In  the  famous  Cabinet  Room,  around  the  table  at  which 
so  many  of  the  greatest  men  in  our  history  have  sat,  the 
policy  of  the  administration  and  the  destiny  of  the  nation  is 
shaped.  No  records  are  kept ;  the  discussion  is  always 
informal,  and  a  vote  is  seldom  taken,  for  there  is  nothing  to 
vote  on.  Whatever  question  is  discussed,  members  of 
the  Cabinet  present  express  their  opinions,  to  which  the 
President  listens,  and  then  he  decides.  The  President  sits 
at  one  end  of  the  table,  the  Secretary  of  State  at  his  right, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  his  left,  the  others  in 
the  order  of  the  creation  of  their  departments,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  and  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  being 
crowded  together  at  the  end  opposite  the  President.  If 
other  departments  are  added,  the  historic  Cabinet  table  will 
have  to  be  lengthened  or  give  way  to  a  longer  one. 

The  position  of  members  of  the  Cabinet  is  now  one  of 
such  social  eminence  in  the  Capital  that  only  men  of  means 
can  afford  to  accept  it.  The  salary  is  $8,000  a  year ;  but 
society  does  not  regard  him  as  a  success,  no  matter  how 
great  a  statesman  he  may  be,  unless  he  spends  considerably 
more  than  his  salary  in  living  and  entertaining.  When 
Secretary  Tracy  of  President  Benjamin  Harrison's  admin- 
istration was  seeking  a  house,  he  found  one  to  his  liking  and 
was  informed  that  the  rent  was  $7,500  a  year. 

"  What  shall  I  do  with  the  remaining  $500  of  my  sal- 
ary ? "  he  asked  the  astonished  agent. 

Many  a  Cabinet  officer,  worried  by  the  importunities  of 
office-seekers,  or  by  the  cares  and  exacting  duties  of -his 
department,  and  conscious  that  he  is  spending  more  than  his 
salary,  while  at  the  same  time  he  is  temporarily  deprived 
of  his  regular  professional  income,  has  asked.himself  if  the 
life  of  a  Cabinet  member  is  really  worth  living.  But  it  is  a 
position  of  great  honor,  and  his  family  have  a  social  emi- 
nence which  is  fascinating ;  he  consoles  himself,  therefore, 
with  the  thought  that  owing  to  his  prominence  in  official 


A  CURIOUS   SITUATION.  187 

circles  greater  rewards  will  come  to  him  when  he  has 
returned  to  private  life.  Thus  the  position  is  seldom 
declined,  even  by  men  who  can  hardly  afford  the  experience. 

The  dignity  of  the  position  was  considerably  increased 
by  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1886  fixing  in  the  Cabinet  the 
succession  to  the  Presidency  in  case  of  death.  Previous  to 
that,  in  the  event  of  the  death  of  both  the  President  and 
Vice- President,  the  office  fell  to  the  President-pro-tem  of  the 
Senate,  and  at  his  death  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House.  But 
in  the  first  administration  of  President  Cleveland  a  curious 
situation  was  brought  about  by  the  death  of  Yice-President 
Hend ricks  when  Congress  was  not  organized.  If  the  Presi- 
dent should  die  in  that  period  there  would  be  no  one  to  suc- 
ceed him ;  whereas,  if  he  should  die  after  Congress  organ- 
ized, the  Senate  being  of  a  different  political  persuasion,  the 
office  would  go  to  one  of  the  other  party  than  that  popularly 
chosen,  and  the  men  who  had  thought  themselves  to  be  com- 
fortably settled  in  their  administrative  places  for  four  years 
would  be  compelled  to  step  aside  for  their  political  enemies. 
By  the  law  passed  to  provide  against  such  possibilities  the 
President's  office  falls  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  rather  than 
to  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  and  after  him  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  so  on.  This  order  of  prece- 
dence holds  rigidly  in  all  social  matters.  After  "  Mr.  Yice- 
President  "  comes  "  Mr.  Secretary."  Formerly  after  the 
Yice-President  came  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  but  now  the  ruling  of 
society  is  that  he  take  a  lower  place. 

Just  west  of  the  White  House  and  separated  from  its 
grounds  by  a  narrow,  smoothly-paved  street  which  in  the 
olden  days  used  to  be  known  as  "  Lover's  Lane,"  stands  now 
the  largest  and  most  magnificent  office  building  in  the  world, 
popularly  known  as  the  "  State, War,  and  Navy  Department." 
This  majestic  pile  of  granite  was  begun  in  1871  and  com- 
pleted in  1893.  Its  500  rooms  open  from  two  miles  of 
marble  halls.  The  stairways  are  of  granite  and  the  entire 


188  THE  STATELY  DIPLOMATIC  ROOM. 

construction  is  fireproof,  for  within  the  massive  walls  are 
many  priceless  records  and  archives.  The  fires  which  had 
several  times  destroyed  the  most  valuable  records  in  the 
Patent  Office  and  Treasury,  taught  the  government  that 
parsimony  in  its  departmental  buildings  did  not  pay.  This 
great  $11,000,000  building  covers  four  and  one-half  acres. 
It  is  a  grand,  substantial,  indestructible  edifice  for  the  three 
great  departments  of  the  State,  of  War,  and  of  the  Navy. 

The  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  is  on  the  second 
floor,  and  adjoining  it  are  the  offices  of  the  assistant  secre- 
taries and  the  long  and  stately  diplomatic  room  in  which  the 
American  premier  receives  the  representatives  of  foreign 
governments.  There  is  an  atmosphere  of  dignified  formality, 
of  studious  quiet,  almost  of  elegant  leisure  in  these  rooms 
which  is  found  nowhere  else  in  the  busy  government  build- 
ings. Greatness  looks  down  upon  us  from  the  walls  ;  here 
are  portraits  of  Clay,  Webster,  Jefferson,  Seward,  Wash- 
burne,  Everett,  Fish,  Evarts,  and  Elaine.  Smaller,  but 
hardly  less  elegant  in  appearance,  is  the  diplomatic  ante- 
room where  foreign  dignitaries  await  an  audience  with  the 
Secretary. 

In  a  large  department  on  the  third  floor  is  the  "  Library 
of  the  Department  of  State,"  consisting  of  many  rare  and 
valuable  volumes  upon  international  and  foreign  subjects. 
Here,  carefully  preserved,  in  the  iron  hall  of  the  library,  are 
valuable  heirlooms  of  the  nation.  The  most  precious  of  the 
archives  —  the  two  great  charters  —  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  —  are 
preserved  in  a  steel  case.  It  is  not  commonly  known  that 
the  Secretary  of  State  forbade  their  transmission  to  Chicago 
for  exhibition  at  the  World's  Fair  at  the  risk  of  a  railway 
accident  in  transit  and  fire  after  their  arrival  —  hazards  suffi- 
ciently apparent  and  by  no  means  trivial. 

The  Declaration  had  come  to  the  Department  of  State 
from  the  Continental  Congress.  It  was  subjected  to  a  pro- 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE. 

Showing  the  steel  safe  in  which  are  deposited  the  originals  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  now  no  longer  exhibited  to  the  public 
Many  rare  and  valuable  volumes  are  deposited  here. 


A  PRICELESS  POSSESSION.  191 

cess  early  in  the  century  in  securing  a  facsimile  for  a  copper- 
plate, that  caused  the  ink  to  fade  and  the  parchment  to 
deteriorate.  On  the  llth  of  June,  1841,  it  was  deposited  in 
the  Patent  Office,  and  afterwards  placed  on  exhibition  in  the 
Interior  Department,  in  a  brilliant  light,  causing  further 
dimness  and  decay.  It  was  returned  to  the  Department  of 
State  in  March,  1877,  upon  the"  completion  of  fireproof 
quarters,  and  placed  in  the  library  of  the  Department.  In 
February  of  1894  it  was  put  away  out  of  the  light  and  air, 
and  this  notice  was  posted  on  the  exhibition  case : 

"  The  rapid  fading  of  the  text  of  the  original  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  the  deterioration  of  the  parchment 
upon  which  it  is  engrossed  from  exposure  to  the  light  and 
from  lapse  of  time  render  it  impracticable  for  the  Depart- 
ment longer  to  exhibit  or  to  handle  it. 

"  For  the  secure  preservation  of  its  present  condition,  so 
far  as  may  be  possible,  it  has  been  carefully  wrapped  and 
placed  flat  in  a  steel  case,  and  the  rule  that  it  shall  not  be 
disturbed  for  exhibition  purposes  must  be  impartially  and 
rigidly  observed. 

"  In  lieu  of  the  original  document  a  facsimile  is  placed 
here. 

"  By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  State." 

"While  the  full  text  of  the  original  Declaration  is  still 
legible,  the  signatures  have,  with  but  few  exceptions,  utterly 
vanished.  Thus  the  value  of  the  copperplate  is  inestimably 
enhanced,  and  this  also  is  now  kept  in  a  fireproof  safe.  The 
facsimile  shown  in  this  volume  was  photographed  from  a 
perfect  impression  from  this  plate  loaned  to  the  publishers 
by  the  Department  of  State. 

On  the  wall  of  the  library  hangs  the  original  of  Jeffer- 
son's first  draft  of  the  Declaration  with  interlineations  by 
Franklin  and  John  Adams.  Jefferson  will  be  remembered 
in  history  as  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
\vhen  his  Presidency  has  been  forgotten.  He  was  much 


192  RELICS  IN  THE  LIBRAKY. 

prouder  of  having  written  that  immortal  document  than  of 
having  held  any  office,  and  he  desired  that  the  fact  should  be 
inscribed  on  his  tomb. 

Here  may  be  seen  the  war  sword  of  Washington  —  the 
very  weapon  he  wore  in  his  campaigns  and  camps ;  the  sword 
of  Jackson  worn  at  New  Orleans ;  Jefferson's  writing  desk 
at  which,  tradition  says,  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  penned;  Franklin's  staff,  and  buttons  from  his  court 
dress,  calling  up  the  picture  of  the  philosopher  at  the  gay 
court  of  Versailles ;  the  relics  of  Capt.  Hull  of  the  frigate 
Constitution,  and  many  other  curiosities  which  have  been 
presented  to  the  government  in  connection  with  some  of  its 
diplomatic  incidents.  Here  also  are  the  papers  of  many  of 
the  great  public  men  of  the  past,  of  "Washington,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Monroe,  Hamilton,  and  Franklin.  The  papers  of 
Washington  show  his  precision  in  every-day  matters  at  Mt. 
Yernon  ;  directions  in  his  own  handwriting  to  his  farmer  or 
steward,  "  how  to  plough,  buy  nails,  grains,  scissors,  shingles, 
soap,  rakes,  dishes,  etc."  These  117  folio  volumes,  with  the 
Jefferson  manuscripts  and  papers  of  Franklin,  Madison, 
•Monroe,  and  Hamilton,  are  appraised  at  $150,000.-  The 
papers  of  Washington  alone  cost  the  government  $45,000 ; 
for  the  thirty-two  volumes  of  Franklin's  papers,  $35,000  was 
paid. 

The  Secretary  of  State  is  also  the  custodian  of  the  Great 
Seal  of  the  United  States,  adopted  by  Congress  in  1Y82. 
The  familiar  design  consists  of  an  American  eagle  support- 
ing an  escutcheon  on  his  breast,  holding  in  his  talons  an  olive 
branch  and  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows,  and  in  his  beak  a 
scroll  inscribed  with  the  motto :  "  E  Pluribus  Unum."  There 
was  a  design  for  tha  reverse  side  of  the  seal,  but  it  has  never 
been  cut. 

In  the  archives  of  the  office  also  are  the  originals  of  all 
the  laws  of  the  United  States ;  on  these  engrossed  parch- 
ments the  fabric  of  the  government  rests.  The  parchments 


fill 


FAMOUS  PARCHMENTS.  19? 

are  fourteen  by  nineteen  inches  in  size  and  bound  in  book 
form  no  matter  how  brief  the  law.  The  penmanship  is 
coarse  but  very  regular,  and  the  signatures  are  the  originals. 
In  all  cases  the  bills  are  signed  in  the  lower  right  hand 
corner  by  the  speaker  and  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate,  and  in  the  lower  left  hand  corner  by  the  President. 
Here  also  are  all  the  proclamations  of  the  Presidents.  The 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  for  instance,  is  written  upon 
very  heavy  white  paper  that  is  folded  once,  and  each  page  is 
ten  by  fourteen  inches  in  size.  It  begins  as  do  all  proclama- 
tions —  "  By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 
—  A  Proclamation."  It  nowhere  calls  itself  an  emancipa- 
tion proclamation  ;  that  is  the.  name  which  the  people  have 
given  it.  As  pur  eyes  pass  over  these  originals  of  famous 
documents  in  our  history,  we  seem  to  .get  closer  to  the  great 
men  who  framed  them,  to  enter  into  their  spirit,  to  read 
more  closely  their  thoughts  and  to  catch  a  patriotic  inspira- 
tion which  printed  copies  cannot  give. 

The  Secretary  of  State  very  largely  holds  in  his  hands 
the  national  honor.  Questions  of  the  gravest  difficulty  with 
foreign  powers  may  arise  at  any  time  and  must  be  handled 
with  the  utmost  tact  and  diplomacy.  "We  should  never 
suppose  that  under  the  suave  and  polite  conversation  be- 
tween the  Secretary  and  the  minister  from  Spain,  lay  the 
issues  of  peace  or  war;  that  in  a  few  days  the  minister 
would  be  given  his  passports  and  the  guns  of  our  navy 
would  be  sinking  Spanish  ships.  The  bland  smile  upon  the 
features  of  the  Chinese  minister  as  he  enters  the  anteroom 
in  his  rich  oriental  costume  does  not  indicate  the  seriousness 
of  his  thoughts  or  the  importance  of  the  interview  which 
takes  place  when  he  meets  the  Secretary, —  a  conversation 
upon  which  may  depend  to  a  large  extent  the  future  of  an 
ancient  oriental  empire. 

The  Secretary  is  in  constant  communication  with  the 
diplomatic  agents  of  the  United  States  throughout  the 


198  DEALING  WITH  DIPLOMATS. 

world,  largely  through  a  cipher  code,  a  very  intricate  affair, 
the  key  to  which  is  only  given  to  ministers  under  their  oath 
to  regard  its  secrecy  as  one  of  their  first  duties.  Neverthe- 
less the  foreign  office  of  every  government  has  its  code 
experts  who  make  it  a  business  to  endeavor  to  master  the 
codes  of  other  nations,  so  the  key  word  is  changed  fre- 
quently or  the  code  varied  in  other  ways.  When  code 
despatches  are  made  public  they  are  paraphrased  to  lessen 
the  opportunity  abroad  to  compare  with  the  original  cipher, 
in  case  it  should  have  been  surreptitiously  taken  from  the 
telegraph  wire  while  in  transit. 

While  the  Secretary,  knowing  the  established  policy  of 
the  government  in  relation  to  Certain  general  matters  or  the 
policy  of  the  President  in  relation  to  current  affairs,  may 
settle  some  questions  upon  his  own  responsibility,  he  usually 
has  his  daily  conference  with  the  President,  who  is  kept 
posted  on  the  course  of  diplomatic  events.  The  diplomatic 
representatives  of  foreign  powers  at  Washington  deal 
directly  with  the  Secretary,  through  whom  their  business 
is  made  known  to  the  President.  When  a  new  foreign 
minister  is  received,  the  State  Department  prepares  a  suit- 
able reply  to  be  made  by  the  President,  and  this  the  latter 
delivers  with  such  modifications  as  he  may  consider  advis- 
able. All  congratulatory  letters  in  response  to  official 
announcements  of  the  birth  of  a  prince  or  princess  are  like- 
wise written  in  the  State  Department  in  diplomatic  formula, 
and  given  to  the  President  for  his  signature.  It  may  seem 
a  little  strained  for  a  democracy  to  pay  any  attention  to 
royal  babies,  but  in  diplomacy  we  must  do  as  diplomats  do. 

The  office  of  the  Secretary,  being  from  the  first  the  most 
dignified  in  the  Cabinet,  was  formerly  regarded  as  a  step- 
ping-stone to  the  Presidency, —  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe, 
and  John  Quincy  Adams,  having  all  served  as  secretaries  to 
preceding  presidents.  But  it  has  become  more  important 
to  fill  the  office  with  men  of  special  experience  in  foreign 


DUTIES   OF  OUR  CONSULS.  199 

affairs,  even  though  they  do  not  possess  the  essentials  con- 
sidered of  paramount  importance  in  a  presidential  candi- 
date. A  hard-working  man  of  experience  in  diplomacy  is 
of  more  value  to  a  President  than  one  who  has  a  command- 
ing place  in  the  Senate  or  House.  In  the  working  force  of 
the  department  are  men  who  have  long  held  important 
positions,  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  diplomatic 
matters,  and  their  training  is  of  especial  service  to  both 
the  Secretary  and  the  President.  It  is  no  small  accomplish- 
ment to  be  posted  in  all  the  intricate  details  of  diplomatic 
precedence,  violations  of  which  have  often  raised  a  tempest. 

Uncle  Sam's  representatives  are  now  stationed  either  as 
diplomats  or  consuls  at  all  the  great  political  and  commer- 
cial centers  of  the  world.  The  first  essential  of  a  successful 
diplomatic  representative  must  be  that  he  is  "persona 
grata  "  to  the  power  to  which  he  is  accredited,  and  the  more 
so  the  better ;  for  it  is  a  part  of  his  duty  to  make  himself 
agreeable  and  his  country  respected  and  liked.  It  is  his 
duty  not  only  to  transmit  to  the  government  to  which  he  is 
accredited,  the  views  of  his  own  government,  as  occasion 
may  require,  but  to  keep  the  latter  informed  of  all  that 
occurs  in  the  foreign  country  in  which  he  is  stationed,  that 
might  in  any  way  affect  the  present  or  future  policy  of  this 
government.  He  must  transmit  information  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  as  to  the  general  trend  of  political  sentiment 
in  the  foreign  country  and  especially  among  the  governing 
classes,  and  report  from  time  to  time  upon  the  progress 
being  made  in  the  arts  and  in  civilization,  the  financial 
strength,  tariff  regulations,  and  so  on.  Each  of  our  legations 
abroad  has  a  permanent  secretary  having  care  of  the  vol- 
uminous archives  of  the  office,  keeping  thoroughly  posted 
upon  the  diplomatic  etiquette  of  the  country  and  acting  as 
charge  d'affaires  in  the  absence  of  the  minister. 

"Whether  in  official  life  or  in  society,  our  representatives 
at  foreign  courts  have  precedence  according  to  rank,  and 


200  BUSINESS   OF  THE  CONSULAR  BUREAU. 

the  same  is  true  of  foreign  representatives  in  Washington. 
If  an  ambassador  calls  at  the  Department  of  State  and  finds 
a  number  of  ministers  waiting  in  the  anteroom  to  see  the 
Secretary,  the  ambassador  first  passes  in.  Until  1893  the 
highest  rank  given  by  our  laws  to  our  foreign  representa- 
tives was  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotenti- 
ary, and,  as  a  result,  our  envoys  were  frequently  placed  in 
the  embarrassing  position  of  seeing  ambassadors  from  small, 
and  perhaps  half -civilized,  powers  taking  precedence  in  all 
matters.  We  now  have  ambassadors  in  all  the  important 
European  courts,  their  salaries  being  commensurate  with 
their  higher  dignity,  though  frequently  by  no  means  equal 
to  the  salary  of  ambassadors  from  very  much  smaller 
powers. 

The  Consular  Bureau  is  called  the  "  business  end  "  of  the 
State  Department.  Our  consuls  are  really  magistrates  for 
our  government,  assisting  American  citizens  in  getting 
their  rights  in  foreign  countries,  aird  noting  and  reporting 
to  our  government  all  matters  of  commercial  interest. 
Every  day  brings  to  the  department  a  batch  of  reports  upon 
the  state  of  the  markets  and  the  possibilities  of  the  exporta- 
tion of  American  products  to  foreign  countries,  and  ab- 
stracts of  these  are  published  in  a  daily  bulletin  which  is 
freely  distributed  all  over  the  country  to  export  and  com- 
mercial houses  and  newspapers,  and  they  are  published 
entire  in  monthly  pamphlets.  In  the  store-room  of  the 
Consular  Bureau,  in  the  basement  of  the  building,  can  be 
had  in  a  moment's  time  and  without  expense  the  fullest 
intelligence  regarding  any  subject  of  foreign  commerce.  If 
you  wish  to  know  about  automobiles  in  Australia,  or  sugar 
beets  in  Germany,  or  brewing  in  Bavaria,  or  rug  making  in 
Persia,  or  rubber  trees  in  South  America,  you  have  but  to 
ask  and  you  will  receive. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  TREASURY  — HOW  ITS 

SECRETS  AND  WORK  ARE  GUARDED  — A  THOUSAND 

BUSY  MAIDS  AND  MATRONS  —  WOMEN  WHO 

HAVE  SEEN  "BETTER  DAYS"— THE 

GREAT  STEEL   CAGE. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  —  The  Treasury  Vaults  and 
Dungeons — "Put  the  Building  Right  Here!"  —  An  Army  of  Clerks 

—  Where  They  Come  From  and  Who  They  Are  —  Women  Who  Have 
Known  "Better  Days" — The  Struggle  for  "  Office"  —  How  .Appoint- 
ments Are  Made  — The  Story  of  Sophia  Holmes  —  Finding  $200,000  in 
a  Waste  Paper  Box  — $800,000,000  in  Gold  and  Silver  —  Ipside  the 
Great  Steel   Cage  —  The   Mysteries    of    the   Treasury  —  Precautions 
Against  Burglary  and  Theft  —  Alarm  Bells  and  Signals  —  Guarding 
Millions  of  Treasure  — How  a  Package  Containing  $20,000  Was  Stolen 

—  The  Man  with  a  Panama  Hat  — A  Package  Containing  $47,000 
Missing  —  Capture  of  the  Thief  —  The  Travels  and  Adventures  of  a 
Dollar  —  When  a  Dollar  Ceases  To  Be  a  Dollar. 

T  a  massive,  cloth-covered  desk,  in  a  large  room  of 
sumptuous  furnishings,  whose  windows  look  out 
across  the  White  Lot  and  the  winding  walks  and 
stately  trees  of  the  grounds  of  the  White  House, 
sits  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  man  who  is 
at  the  head  of  an  establishment  doing  a  business 
of  two  or  three  millions  of  dollars  a  day.  From  the  walls 
of  this  room  look  down  many  famous  men  who  have  held 
this  important  office,  silent  reminders  to  the  present  incum- 
bent that  some  day  his  picture  will  probably  find  a  place 
here  or  in  the  adjoining  anterooms  and  offices  of  his  busy 
assistants  and  secretaries.  This  man  is  temporarily  at  the 
head  of  that  department  of  the  government  which  not  only 

(201) 


202  A   NEVER-ENDING   STREAM   OF   MONEY. 

handles  all  the  money  but  makes  it.  By  virtue  of  his  office 
he  directs  the  employment  of  many  thousands  of  people. 
In  the  vaults  under  his  care  are  millions  and  millions  of 
money  and  bonds.  From  this  vast  establishment  the  money 
flows  out  in  a  never-ending  stream,  and  back  to  it  returns, 
never  perhaps  to  reappear. 

Here  are  millions  of  bright  coins  that  have  never  once 
moved  out  of  their  dark  dungeons  in  the  underground  vaults 
since  they  came  fresh  from  the  mints.  Here  also  are  mil- 
lions of  dollars  worth  of  bonds  —  Uncle  Sam's  own  promises 
to  pay  years  hence  —  held  for  security,  on  which  he  is  regu- 
larly paying  interest  to  those  who  own  them.  Into  this 
great  office  flows  all  the  money  collected  from  customs  and 
internal  revenue  taxes;  here  are  settled  the  money  claims 
which  Uncle  Sam's  people  have  against  him ;  here  are  super- 
vised the  operations  of  the  national  banks  all  over  the  coun- 
try ;  here  is  regulated  the  operation  of  the  mints  that  are 
ever  pouring  a  gold  and  silver  tide  into  the  circulating 
medium,  thus  keeping  alive  the  industries  of  the  nation. 
Every  day  a  million  dollars  in  worn-out,  mutilated  paper 
money  comes  in  for  redemption,  and  a  million  dollars  in 
new,  crisp  bills  go  out  to  battle  with  the  world,  unmind- 
ful of  the  fate  of  their  predecessors. 

Great  as  it  is  to-day,  how  small  was  its  beginning! 
After  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  one  of  the  first 
things  that  the  Continental  Congress  did  was  to  appoint 
two  Joint-Treasurers  of  the  United  Colonies,  who  were  to 
reside  in  Philadelphia,  and  to  receive  each  a  salary  of  $500 
the  first  year,  and  to  give  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $100,000. 
The  second  year  their  salary  was  to  be  raised  to  $800  each. 
In  a  short  time  one  resigned,  but  the  other  remained  Treas 
urer  for  the  Colonies  to  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  a  com- 
mittee of  five  persons  having  been  appointed  meanwhile  to 
assist  him. 

Soon  after  this,  an  office  was  created  in  which  to  keep 


A  NATION  IN   DIFFICULTIES.  203 

the  Treasury  accounts.  That  office  was  an  itinerant,  like 
Congress,  following  it  to  whatever  place  it  assembled.  Acts 
were  passed  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  Mint. 
Alas!  the  poor  continentals  had  no  precious  ore  to  coin, 
and  never  struck  off  a  dollar  or  cent.  Money  was  painfully 
scarce.  As  one  writer  has  said :  "  Nobody  owed  the  Treas- 
ury anything  the  collection  of  which  could  be  enforced,  and 
the  Treasury  owed  nearly  everybody  something  that  could 
not  be  paid."  The  army  was  half  clothed  and  half  fed,  and 
wholly  unpaid.  The  government  had  no  money  of  its  own 
and  nothing  to  make  it  out  of ;  not  even  credit.  That  made 
it  the  more  imperative  that  this  poor  little  empty  Treasury 
should  have  some  responsible  head  who,  by  the  adroit  magic 
of  financial  genius,  should  create  a  way  to  fill  it,  and  in  some 
way  provide  cash  for  the  emergencies  which  were  perpet- 
ually imminent.  Thus  in  September,  1781,  Congress  ap- 
pointed a  single  supreme  "  Superintendent  of  Finance." 

The  first  high  functionary  of  the  Treasury  was  Robert 
Morris,  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  already  distinguished 
himself  by  his  remarkable  financial  talents  as  a  merchant, 
and  his  devoted  patriotism.  Besides,  he  was  the  intimate 
friend  and  confidential  adviser  of  Washington.  He  was  the 
man  for  the  place  and  the  hour.  He  kept  the  credit  of  the 
struggling  Colonies  afloat  in  the  moment  of  their  direst 
need.  He  gave  from  his  private  fortune  without  stint,  and 
added  thereto  the  contributions  of  the  infant  nation.  He 
became  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  framed  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  concluded  his  public 
services  to  his  country  as  United  States  Senator. 

Two  subjects  that  at  the  same  time  moved  the  first  Con- 
gress to  its  depths  were  the  impending  bankruptcy  of  the 
country  and  the  location  of  the  National  Capital.  Sept.  2, 
1789,  the  fundamental  act  establishing  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment was  passed.  Meanwhile  Washington  was  anxious  to 
find  out  how  he  was  to  get  money  to  pay  the  public  debt, 


204 

and  he  invited  Morris  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  his  advice. 
In  one  of  their  interviews,  the  great  Chief  groaned  out: 
"What  is  to  be  done  with  this  heavy  national  debt?" 
"  There  is  but  one  man,"  said  the  astute  financier,  "  who 
can  help  you,  and  that  man  is  Alexander  Hamilton." 

In  ten  days  after  the  establishment  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, Alexander  Hamilton  was  appointed  its  chief.  He 
was  still  in  the  flower  of  his  youth,  but  had  already  proved 
himself,  not  only  in  practical  action,  but  in  the  rarest  gifts 
of  pure  intellect,  to  be  the  most  versatile  and  remarkable 
man  of  his  time.  He  seemed  endowed  with  the  quality  of 
intellect  which  amounts  to  inspiration  —  unerring  in  percep- 
tion, sure  of  success.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution, 
he  raised  and  took  command  of  a  company  of  artillery. 
The  same  transcendent  intuition  which  made  him  supreme 
as  a  financier,  made  him  remarkable  as  a  soldier.  In  Wash- 
ington's first  interview  with  him,  he  made  him  his  aid-de- 
camp, and  through  the  entire  Revolutionary  war  he  was 
called  "  the  right  arm  "  of  the  Commander-in-Chief . 

A  more  remarkable  and  interesting  group  of  men  prob- 
ably never  discussed  and  decided  the  fate  of  a  nation  than 
Washington,  Morris,  and  Hamilton.  Washington,  grave, 
thoughtful,  far-seeing,  slow  to  invent,  but  ready  to  compre- 
hend, and  quick  to  follow  the  counsel  which  his  judgment 
approved;  Morris,  wise,  experienced,  analytic;  Hamilton, 
young,  impetuous,  impassioned,  prophetic,  yet  practical;  in 
comprehension  and  gifts  of  creation  the  supreme  of  the 
three. 

The  first  official  act  of  Hamilton,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  was  to  recommend  that  the  domestic  and  foreign 
war  debt  be  paid,  dollar  for  dollar.  When  the  paper  con- 
taining this  recommendation  was  read  before  Congress,  it 
thought  that  the  new  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  gone 
mad.  How  was  a  nation  of  less  than  4,000,000  of  people  to 
voluntarily  assume  a  debt  of  $75,000,000!  It  was  left  to 


THE   FATHER   OF   THE   TREASURY.  206 

the  untried  Minister  of  Finance  of  thirty-three  years  to  save 
the  national  credit  against  mighty  odds,  and  to  foresee  and 
to  foretell  the  future  resources  of  a  vast,  consolidated  people. 

Then  followed  those  great  state-papers  on  finance  from 
Hamilton,  whose  embodiment  into  laws  fixed  the  duties  on 
all  foreign  productions,  and  taxed  with  just  distinction  the 
home  luxuries  and  necessities  of  life.  By  hard  work  and 
the  magical  touch  of  his  genius,  he  evolved  order  out  of 
chaos  and  established  the  treasury  system  of  the  United 
States  upon  a  foundation  from  which  it  has  never  been 
shaken,  either  by  political  or  civil  conflict.  If  Washington 
was  the  father  of  his  Country,  Hamilton  was  the  Father  of 
the  Treasury. 

While  consuming  himself  for  the  nation,  Hamilton  was 
harassed  by  the  abuse  of  personal  and  political  enemies,  and 
suffering  for  the  adequate  means  to  support  his  family. 
While  building  up  the  financial  system  which  was  to  re- 
deem his  country,  the  state  of  his  own  finances  may  be 
judged  by  the  following  letter  from  him  to  a  personal 
friend,  dated  September  30,  1791 : 

"  DEAR  SIR  —  If  you  can  conveniently  let  me  have  twenty  dollars  for 
a  few  days,  send  it  by  bearer.  A.  H." 

The  amount  of  personal  toil  he  performed  for  the 
government  was  enormous.  Talleyrand,  the  French  states- 
man, was  at  this  time  a  refugee  in  Philadelphia.  Upon  his 
return  to  France  he  spoke  with  admiring  enthusiasm  of  the 
young  American  patriot.  Narrating  his  experience  in 
America,  he  once  said: 

"  I  have  seen  in  that  country  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world  —  a  man,  who  has  made  the  future  of  the  nation, 
laboring  all  night  to  support  his  family." 

The  growth  of  the  Treasury  department  was  slow 
and  discouraging.  When  the  government  was  brought  to 
Washington,  the  Treasury  was  housed  in  a  small  building 
12 


206  DETERMINING  THE   SITE. 

near  the  unfinished  White  House  with  barely  enough  room 
for  its  few  clerks,  and  the  records  were  packed  away  in  a 
near-by  store  which  was  soon  afterwards  consumed  by  fire. 
"When  the  British  entered  Washington  in  1814  the  Treasury 
itself  was  burned.  Then  the  business  was  for  some  time 
carried  on  in  the  "  Six  Buildings  "  west  of  the  White  House. 
The  credit  of  the  country  was  again  at  its  lowest  ebb, 
and  an  effort  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  $25,000,000  ignomini- 
ously  failed.  In  1833  the  Treasury  and  its  contents  was 
again  consumed  by  fire,  and  the  construction  of  the  present 
Treasury  building,  second  in  architectural  importance  only 
to  the  Capitol,  was  begun. 

A  bitter  controversy  arose  as  to  where  the  new  building 
should  be  located ;  there  were  plenty  of  available  sites 
about  the  city  and  each  faction  had  its  favorite  location. 
Finally,  so  the  story  goes,  President  Jackson,  whose 
patience  had  been  sorely  tried  and  was  now  exhausted, 
stalked  out  of  the  White  House  to  the  corner  of  Fifteenth 
street  and  Penns}rlvania  avenue,  thrust  his  cane  into  the 
ground  and  thundered  :  "  Put  the  building  right  here !  " 
There  it  was  erected,  where  it  not  only  cut  off  forever  a 
view  of  the  White  House  from  the  Capitol,  but  where  the 
great  and  beautiful  proportions  of  the  building  itself  could 
never  be  seen  to  advantage* 

The  building  was  completed  in  186T  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
$7,000,000.  It  is  450  feet  long  and  250  feet  wide,  built 
around  two  interior  courts  so  that  every  one  of  the  200 
rooms  on  each  floor  is  well  lighted.  The  south  front  is 
really  the  most  imposing,  and  the  view  from  it  is  superb. 
To  the  left  runs  Pennsylvania  avenue  in  its  undeviating 
course  for  over  a  mile,  till  lost  in  the  foliage  above  which 
rises  the  majestic  dome  of  the  Capitol.  On  the  s'outh,  like 
a  lance  of  light,  towers  the  great  Monument,  and  to  the 
west  lie  the  grounds  of  the  White  House.  The  western 
portico  faces  the  President's  house,  but  the  commonly-used 


A  CITY  IN  ITSELF.  207 

entrance  is  on  the  north,  facing  Pennsylvania  avenue.  The 
building  is  of  granite,  three  stories  high,  with  a  double 
basement  —  the  richest  basement  in  the  world  —  and  an 
attic.  It  was  supposed  that  the  structure  would  for  a  long 
time,  if  not  always,  answer  the  requirements  of  the  depart- 
ment, but  long  since  many  of  its  offices  have  been  forced 
into  other  quarters ;  indeed,  another  building  of  similar  pro- 
portions would  not  now  provide  sufficient  room  for  the 
present  Treasury  and  its  manifold  operations. 

The  interior  of  the  building  resembles  a  little  city  in 
itself.  The  long  marble  corridors  are  like  streets,  into 
which  swing  doors  from  innumerable  offices  on  each  side. 
As  we  pass  along  we  catch  glimpses  of  these  busy  rooms, 
some  with  rich  furnishings,  and  everywhere  are  desks  and 
clerks.  Over  the  doors  are  signs  indicating  the  particular 
duties  being  performed  or  supervised  within :  "  Office  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  "  ;  "  Office  of  the  First  Comp- 
troller "  ;  "  Office  of  the  Kegister,"  etc. 

While  so  many  things  indicate  the  making  and  handling 
of  money  and  of  accounts,  there  are  not  wanting  other 
indications  that  reveal  the  wide  range  of  the  activities  of 
the  establishment ;  for  under  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
are  such  officers  as  the  Superintendent  of  the  Life  Saving 
Service,  a  Supervising  Architect,  a  Supervising  Inspector  — 
General  of  Steam  Vessels,  a  Light  House  Board,  a  Super- 
vising Surgeon  of  Marine  Hospitals,  Commissioners  of 
Internal  Kevenue,  of  Navigation,  of  Immigration,  of  Chiefs 
of  the  Secret  Service,  and  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

The  employees,  men  and  women,  can  be  numbered 
by  regiments.  They  are  of  all  ages  and  of  every  grade. 
Their  labor  ranges  from  the  lowliest  manual  toil  of  the 
charwomen  in  its  basement,  to  the  highest  intellectual 
employment.  There  is  not"  another  company  of  women- 
workers  in  the  land  which  numbers  so  many  ladies  of  high 
character,  intelligence,  culture,  and  social  position.  Some 


208  .AN  ARMY  OF  EMPLOYEES. 

of  them  are  remarkable  for  their  literary  and  scientific 
attainments.  •  Many  of  them  are  of  that  large  class  who 
have  "  known  better  days " ;  for  the  Treasury,  like  all 
other  departments  of  the  government,  is  a  vast  refuge 
for  the  unfortunate  and  the  unsuccessful.  The  only  excep- 
tions are  found  in  two  classes,  viz.:  those  who  use  depart- 
mental life  as  the  ladder  by  which  to  climb  to  a  higher 
round  of  life  and  service,  and  those  who  seek  it  without  half 
fulfilling  its  duties,  because  too  inefficient  to  fill  any  other 
place  in  the  world  well. 

Luckless  authors,  sore-throated,  pulpitless  clergymen, 
briefless  lawyers,  broken-down  merchants,  poor  widows, 
orphaned  daughters,  and  occasionally  an  adventurer,  mas- 
culine or  feminine,  of  doubtful  or  bad  degree,  and  repre- 
sentatives from  nearly  every  walk  in  life  are  found  within 
the  Treasury  — "  in  office."  Here  are  men  who  have 
grown  gray,  weak-limbed,  and  wizened  at  their  desks,  as 
automatic  in  their  movements  as  machines,  and  as  narrow 
in  their  views  as  the  straight  path  of  their  endless  routine. 

But  there  are  plenty  of  young  men,  and  young  women, 
too,  and  many  a  little  romance  of  life  has  centered  here. 
Here  are  the  daughters  or  widows  of  famous  legislators  or 
soldiers,  who  in  serving  their  country  were  too  busy  or  too 
honest  or  too  indifferent  to  serve  their  families  also.  Some 
of  these  women  were  reared  in  luxury  without  a  thought 
that  necessity  would  ever  compel  them  to  work  for  their 
daily  bread. 

The  daughters  of  Chief  Justice  Taney  were  for  some 
years  employed  in  the  Treasury  Department;  the  widow 
of  Governor  Ford  of  Ohio  was  also  clerk  there.  Mrs. 
McCain  and  Mrs.  Crawford,  of  the  McElwee  family,  were 
among  the  first  in  this  service.  All  the  male  members 
of  the  family,  nineteen  in  number,  were  in  the  Union  army, 
and  Mr.  McCain  was  lying  mortally  wounded.  It  was  a 
time  of  great  distress,  and  Mrs.  McCain  applied  in  person  to 


SOME   OF   THE  WOMEN   WORKERS.  209 

President   Lincoln   for  a  position.     Tearing  a  strip  from 
a  paper  in  his  hand  the  great-hearted  Lincoln  wrote  : 

"Owe  this  lady  employment. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

She  took  this  at  once  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  — 
received  an  appointment  immediately,  and  held  it  for 
many  years.  The  widow  of  General  Kimball,  who  fell  at 
Chantilly,  was  for  years  a  most  valued  employee  of  the 
Treasury  Department.  Governor  Fairchild,  of  "Wisconsin, 
found  his  beautiful  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  distinguished 
man,  occupying  a  desk  in  the  Treasury.  The  wife  of 
Attorney-General  Brewster,  a  daughter  of  Robert  J. 
Walker,  formerly  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  also  a 
clerk  in  that  Department,  and  met  General  Brewster  while 
at  her  desk  preparing  some  document  for  which  he  had 
applied  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

The  army  of  charwomen  who  take  possession  of  the 
Treasury  after  business  for  the  day  has  closed,  is  composed 
of  women  struggling  to  live  by  honest,  albeit  the  lowliest 
toil.  If  we  could  know  the  history  of  each  one,  what  revel- 
ations of  heroism  and  devotion  to  duty  would  be  disclosed. 
Among  these  humble  women  one  became  famous,  and  the 
story. of  her  rich  find  in  a  Treasury  waste  paper  box  has 
often,  though  not  always  truthfully,  been  told. 

Sophia  Holmes,  a  native  of  "Washington,  was  the  widow 
of  a  colored  soldier  killed  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  in  the 
Civil  War.  Her  husband  was  a  slave  whom  Col.  Seaton,  the 
noted  Abolitionist,  had  bought  to  save  him  from  being  sold 
out  of  the  District.  He  was  valued  at  $1,000.  Sophia  was 
a  free  woman  who  labored  many  years  to  save  the  money 
with  which  she  helped  to  purchase  her  husband's  freedom, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  pair  had  paid  $600  towards 
the  purchase  price.  The  death  of  her  husband  left  her  with 
two  small  children  to  support.  Senator  Wilson,  James  G. 


210  SOPHIA  HOLMES  ON  GUARD. 

Elaine,  and  others  became  interested  in  her  story,  and  be- 
ing the  widow  of  a  Union  soldier  she  managed  to  obtain 
work  in  the  Division  of  Issue,  in  the  Treasury  Department, 
as  a  charwoman,  at  fifteen  dollars  a  month,  her  duties  con- 
sisting of  sweeping,  scrubbing,  dusting,  emptying  baskets 
and  boxes  of  waste  papers,  etc.,  after  the  close  of  business 
hours. 

Late  one  afternoon,  when  the  army  of  Treasury  officials 
and  clerks  had  departed,  while  engaged  in  cleaning  the 
offices,  she  seized  a  box  of  waste  paper  to  empty  it,  but  the 
first  handful  she  removed  disclosed  to  her  astonished  eyes  a 
lot  of  bank  bills,  genuine  greenbacks,  of  all  denominations, 
some  of  them  as  large  as  $1,000.  For  a  moment  she  was 
transfixed  with  amazement.  The  box  was  packed  full  of 
them.  Recovering  her  composure  she  hastily  replaced  the 
top  layer  of  paper,  pushed  the  box  out  of  sight,  and  resolved 
to  keep  her  discovery  secret  until  she  could  communicate 
with  some  of  the  higher  officials.  She  would  not  even  trust 
the  watchman  whom  she  momentarily  expected  on  his 
rounds.  "  I  was  going  to  call  him,"  she  said  afterwards, 
"  but  something  kept  saying  like,  i  Sophia,  don't  you  do  it ! 
Don't  you  do  it !  You's  a  poor  black  woman !  He  may 
take  the  bank  notes  and  say  you  stole  'em.' ''  So  she  went 
on  with  her  sweeping  and  dusting  and  kept  on  thinking. 

The  hour  for  leaving  arrived  and  yet  she  was  not 
through.  The  tramp  of  the  watchman  announced  his  ap- 
proach, but  she  continued  her  sweeping  with  unabated  and 
unusual  energy.  Seeing  her  still  at  work,  he  stopped  and 
said,  "What,  aren't  you  through  yet?"  "Not  quite,"  she 
said.  "  I'se  through  d'reckly,"  and  kept  right  on  digging 
into  the  floor  with  her  broom.  Again  the  watchman  re- 
turned and  said  "  You  take  a  powerful  time  a-cleaning  up  to- 
night, Mrs.  Holmes,  what's  the  matter  with  you  ? "  "  I'se 
through  pretty  soon,  pretty  soon,"  said  Sophia,  raising  a 
cloud  of  dust  with  broom  and  brush.  Darkness  filled  the 


A  SURPRISE   FOR  GENERAL  SPINNER.  213 

Treasury.  She  thought  of  her  two  children  waiting  for 
their  supper  at  home.  Mechanically  she  kept  at  work  until, 
tired  out,  she  sat  on  the  box  of  money  and  dropped  into 
semi-sleep. 

At  that  time  (1862)  General  Spinner  was  Treasurer,  an 
official  whose  great  fidelity  to  his  trust  had  earned  for  him 
the  title  of  "  The  watch  dog  of  the  Treasury."  He  was  uni- 
versally known  as  "  the  General " ;  crooked,  crotchety,  great- 
hearted, every  afflicted  woman  in  the  large  army  of  workers 
under  his  care  was  sure  of  a  hearing,  and  of  redress,  if  possi- 
ble, from  him.  From  his  small  room  in  the  Treasury  a  door 
opened  into  a  still  smaller  one.  In  this  little  room  the 
keeper  of  the  nation's  millions  often  slept  all  night,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  within  call  in  case  of  accident  or  wrong  do- 
ing. So  great  was  his  personal  anxiety  and  the  consciousness 
of  his  vast  responsibility  that  it  was  his  custom  every  night 
to  go  to  the  great  money  vaults  and,  with  his  own  hand  upon 
the  handles,  assure  himself  beyond  doubt  that  the  nation's 
money  safes  were  securely  locked. 

About  two  o'clock  that  morning,  being  restless  and  un- 
able to  sleep  he  arose,  and,  shod  as  was  his  wont  in  carpet 
slippers,  started  on  his  customary  rounds  through  the  long 
and  dimly-lighted  offices  and  corridors.  Sophia  heard  his 
shuffling  steps  long  bef  ore,  he  reached  her,  and  standing  by 
the  box  she  waited  tremblingly  for  his  approach.  "  General, 
general,  come  here,  come  here ! "  she  shouted  to  the  startled 
treasurer  who,  stopping  in  his  tracks,  gazed  intently  at  her 
and  then  cautiously  approached.  Soph54^en;bved;tji^top 
layer  of  waste  paper  from  the  box,,  pointed >  to, the,  .pile  of 
greenbacks  beneath  and  told  her  storj,\  •,, » :*  V,*'y%  ^*  • 

The  astonished  treasurer  speedily  summoned  the  officers 
of  the  Division.  Upon  their  arrival  the  money  was  removed 
from  the  box,  closely  examined,  and  found  to  be  perfectly 
completed  bills  ready  for  circulation.  Sophia  was  kept  pris- 
oner until  the  money  was  counted,  when  she  was  sent  home 


214  A  USEFUL  AND   HONORED   LIFE. 

in  a  carriage  to  her  children,  who  had  been  cared  for  by  the 
neighbors.  How  the  bills  got  into  the  box  is  a  mystery 
known  only  to  Treasury  officials,  and  they  have  never  taken 
the  public  sufficiently  into  their  confidence  to  make  an  ex- 
planation; nor  did  they  reveal  the  exact  amount  found, 
though  it  has  been  stated  by  others  in  position  to  know  that 
it  was  over  $200,000. 

A  few  days  afterward  General  Spinner  sent  for  Sophia, 
and  handed  her  an  appointment  to  a  position  as  janitress, 
her  duties  being  chiefly  to  run  errands  and  make  herself  gen- 
erally useful,  at  a  salary  of  $660  a  year.  She  was  the  first 
colored  woman  ever  officially  appointed  to  the  service  of  the 
United  States  Government.  For  thirty-eight  years  she  re- 
tained this  position.  During  her  life  she  probably  saw  more 
money  than  any  woman  that  ever  lived.  She  used  her  sav- 
ings to  bring  up  her  children,  as  well  as  a  family  of  relatives 
whom  she  educated  and  started  in  life  as  useful  citizens. 
Her  hair  whitened  with  the  frosts  of  time,  but  her  honest 
face  was  always  wreathed  in  smiles  of  recognition  to  the 
high  and  low,  to  all  of  whom  she  was  familiarly  known  as 
"Aunt  Sophie,"  and  all  invariably  greeted  her  cordially  when 
they  met  in  the  halls  of  the  Treasury. 

Sophia  Holmes  died  October  10th,  1900,  aged  about 
seventy-nine  years.  At  her  funeral,  which  was  largely 
attended  by  whites  as  well  as  blacks,  the  colored  minister 
who  officiated  said  :  "  It  was  recentl}7  stated  that  all  colored 
persons  will  steal  if  they  have  a  chance.  My  friends,  we 
have  fiu  this  cbjire^  the*  body  of  a  colored  woman  the  record 
of  <  whose  private  anil  official  life  proves  that  statement  to  be 
'  '  '' 


Many  women  find  a  refuge  here  through  the  influence  of 
friends  who  take  pity  on  them.  Congressmen  and  Senators 
are  importuned,  the  Secretary  is  "  visited,"  and  at  last  the 
appointment  is  made.  Their  duties  begin  at  nine  in  the 
morning  and  are  over  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  brief 


A  PEEP  AT  IMPRISONED   WEALTH.  215 

intermission  at  noon.  In  the  evening  some  of  them  may  be 
found  in  attendance  at  social  functions,  or  in  society,  which 
they  grace  with  becoming  dignity  and  ease ;  but  the  greater 
number  of  them  go  to  humble  homes,  where  await  them 
those  who  rely  upon  them  for  support.  Most  of  them  are 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  government,  which  stands  to 
them  for  the  very  breath  of  life.  Eequiring  as  it  does  so 
many  employees,  the  government  can,  if  it  chooses,  benefit 
the  unfortunate  and  deserving,  though  sometimes,  as  in  pri- 
vate business,  the  undeserving  secure  places  to  which  they 
are  not  entitled,  through  favoritism  of  men  in  power. 

"We  descend  to  the  basement  of  the  great  money-making 
establishment  and  are  shown  something  over  $150,000,000  in 
gold  and  silver.  Such  a  sight  is  too  rare  to  be  missed, 
though,  after  all,  it  is  little  more  than  a  peep  at  a  great 
many  boxes  and  packages  piled  within  steel  cages  within 
steel  doors  within  stone  walls.  We  first  pause  before  the 
great  silver  storage  vault  extending  under  the  terrace  at  the 
south  end  of  the  building.  Entering  through  a  series  of 
massive  doors  we  behold  a  mighty  box  of  steel  lattice- work 
eighty-nine  feet  long  and  fifty -one  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet 
high,  full  of  silver  dollars,  a  little  more  than  100,000,000 
of  them.  Although  each  silver  dollar  weighs  less  than  an 
ounce,  those  stored  here  would  weigh  about  3,000  tons. 

The  silver  is  tied  up  in  bags  of  $1,000  each  and  packed 
in  wooden  boxes,  two  bags  in  a  box.  Formerly  the  coin  was 
simply  stacked  up  in  bags,  but  notwithstanding  the  walls  of 
steel,  dampness  rotted  the  bags  and  the  money  was  continu- 
ally running  out  on  the  floor.  This  made  extra  trouble,  re- 
quired fresh  counts, — and  it  is  no  light  undertaking  to  count 
such  a  gigantic  sum  in  coin.  Hence  it  was  decided  to  pack 
the  bags  in  boxes,  and,  so  long  as  the  seal  of  the  Treasurer 
on  each  bag  is  intact,  it  is  not  necessary  to  count  the  con- 
tents every  time  a  recount  is  made,  which  is  as  often  as  a 
new  administration  comes  in.  The  boxes  are  built  in  tiers 


216  RICH  TREASURES  IN  THE  VAULTS. 

with  passage-ways  between,  and  usually  on  a  table  in  one  of 
these  passage-ways  may  be  seen  a  thousand  silver  dollars  ex- 
posed to  view  as  the  contents  of  one  bag.  One  of  the  slid- 
ing doors  of  the  vault  weighs  six  tons ;  the  other,  a  combina- 
tion door,  is  provided  with  a  time  lock  which  is  wound  up 
every  afternoon  at  2  o'clock  and  does  not  run  down  until  9 
o'clock  A.  M.  the  next  day.  Immediately  adjacent  to  this 
great  vault  is  another  nearly  as  large  containing  about  $60,- 
000,000  in  gold  and  silver — both  guarded  nightly  by  watch- 
men especially  detailed  for  that  purpose. 

The  bond  vault  contains  all  the  bonds  deposited  by 
National  banks  as  security  for  the  circulation  of  their  bank 
notes.  The  amount  of  bonds  so  held  is  steadily  increasing 
and  now  amounts  to  about  $300,000,000.  A  dollar  here 
occupies  very  little  space  compared  with  that  sum  in  gold 
or  silver.  The  bond  clerk  can  pick  up  a  small  package  con- 
taining $4,000,000  worth  and  shake  it  temptingly  before 
your  incredulous  eyes.  In  another  vault  is  stored  a  lot  of 
fractional  silver  and  gold  coin,  mainly  for  local  uses.  Much 
of  the  gold  of  the  reserve  is  kept  at  the  different  sub-treas- 
uries, but  the  entire  contents  of  the  Treasury  vaults  in  gold, 
silver,  currency,  and  bonds  aggregates  always  over  $800,- 
000,000,  and  is  constantly  increasing. 

Although  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  for  a  thief  to 
make  way  with  a  single  dollar  of  all  this  money,  the  gov- 
ernment takes  ample  precautions  against  thieves  and  bur- 
glars. A  force  of  sixty-eight  watchmen  —  all  of  them  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  army  or  navy  —  is  divided  into 
three  reliefs.  They  patrol  the  building  night  and  day,  and 
during  the  day  a  special  force  is  always  on  hand  in  case  of 
an  emergency. 

From  various  parts  of  the  building  electric  bells  ring  in 
signals  every  half  hour,  day  and  night,  to  the  office  of  the 
Captain  of  the  Watch,  who  is  in  electric  connection  with  the 
Chief  of  Police,  and  with  Fort  Meyer  and  the  Arsenal,  so 


PRECAUTIONS  AND   SAFEGUARD^ 

that  police,  cavalry,  and  artillery  can  be  instantly  sum- 
moned. Arms  are  stored  away  in  many  of  the  rooms  where 
the  money  is  handled.  When  the  clerical  force  of  the 
Treasury  is  on  duty  during  the  day,  the  Captain  of  the 
Watch  could  instantly  arm  a  thousand  men.  The  offices  of 
the  Treasurer,  assistant  Treasurer,  and  Cashier  are  each 
connected  with  that  of  the  Captain  of  the  Watch,  and  in 
case  of  an  alarm  the  Captain  can  respond  in  thirty  seconds 
with  an  armed  force  to  any  of  the  three  offices.  Outside 
watchmen  are  stationed  at  the  watchhouses  and  are  so  dis- 
posed as  to  command  the  entire  building.  And  yet  in  walk- 
ing about  the  great  building,  even  through  the  vaults,  there 
is  absolutely  no  sign  of  the  careful  preparations  made  by 
Uncle  Sam  to  guard  his  millions  of  treasure. 

The  best  safeguard  for  coin  is  its  weight.  A  million 
dollars  in  gold  coin  weighs  nearly  two  tons,  and  it  would 
take  a  very  strong  man  to  carry  off  $50,000  worth  of  the 
yellow  metal.  Though  a  gold  brick  the  shape  and  size  of 
an  ordinary  building  brick  represents  $8,000,  its  "  heft "  is 
something  astonishing. 

But  while  the  danger  from  burglars  and  from  armed 
attempts  to  secure  even  a  part  of  these  $800,000,000  is  very 
small,  the  Treasury  does  not  claim  to  be  theft  proof.  One 
unlucky  day  in  18TO  a  visitor  came  into  the  room  of  the 
chief  of  the  Division  of  Issue  holding  a  large  Panama  hat  in 
his  hand.  The  chiefs  attention  was  distracted  by  other 
people  who  were  trying  to  talk  to  him,  and  the  man  care- 
lessly dropped  his  hat  over  a  package  that  contained  2,000 
ten-dollar  bills  lying  on  the  desk.  It  was  one  of  several 
packages,  and  the  loss  was  not  noticed  till  some  hours  later. 
The  thief,  however,  was  caught  when  he  tried  to  deposit 
some  of  the  bills.  In  1875  a  clerk  passed  a  package  of  bills 
of  the  denomination  of  $500  each,  amounting  to  $47,000, 
out  of  one  of  the  cash  room  windows  to  a  saloon  keeper 
with  whom  he  was  in  collusion,  and  for  some  time  the  rob- 


218  DISCOURAGEMENTS  TO  THIEVERY. 

bery  was  a  mystery.  Later,  Secret  Service  detectives 
caught  a  man  betting  bills  of  $500  each  at  the  Saratoga 
races,  and  when  arrested  he  implicated  the  guilty  parties, 
and  a  large  part  of  the  money  was  recovered.  There  have 
been  no  other  notable  thefts  from  the  Treasury,  and  under 
the  improved  system  the  chances  of  successful  thieving  are 
greatly  diminished. 

But  even  if  anyone  should  steal  one  of  these  packages, 
the  notes  are  so  carefully  recorded  and  could  be  so  easily 
identified  that  a  description  of  them  would  be  immediately 
advertised,  and  any  one  who  tried  to  pass  one  would  be 
arrested.  While  the  government  has  been  robbed  in  many 
ways  by  its  agents  and  by  others  who  have  escaped  detec- 
tion, no  one  ever  took  money  from  the  Treasury  without 
being  caught ;  nor  can  it  be  taken  without  being  missed. 

A  few  years  ago  the  vault  in  the  cash  room  where  the 
ready  money  is  kept,  refused  to  open  at  the  appointed  time. 
The  time  lock  is  always  set  to  open  at  8:30  A.  M.,  but  on  this 
occasion  something  was  the  matter  with  the  mechanism  and 
the  great  steel  doors  remained  obstinately  closed.  Not  only 
gold  and  silver  but  many  millions  of  dollars  in  paper  money 
are  always  kept  in  this  vault,  and,  if  thieves  could  obtain 
access  to  it,  they  might  easily  walk  away  with  an  enormous 
sum,  the  notes  and  certificates  being  done  up  in  packages 
and  neatly  labeled  with  the  sum  each  contains.  Each 
parcel  contains  4,000  notes,  and  if  the  denomination  is  $500 
a  single  package  represents  $2,000,000.  Nine  o'clock 
arrived,  and  still  the  doors  would  not  open.  For  once 
Uncle  Sam  was  obliged  to  suspend  payments;  the  whole 
office  was  in  suspense".  Experts  were  sent  for,  but  before 
they  arrived  the  big  safe  opened  of  its  own  accord,  and  then 
it  was  discovered  that  accidentally  the  time  lock  had  been 
set  at  9:30  instead  of  8:30. 

One  of  the  famous  rooms  of  the  Treasury  is  the  great 
Cash  Koom,  one  of  the  finest  and  costliest  rooms  in  the 


JOUKNEYINGS  OF  A  DOLLAR  BILL.  219 

world.  Seventy-two  feet  long,  thirty-two  feet  wide,  and 
twenty-two  and  a  half  feet  high,  the  walls,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  upper  cornice,  are  built  entirely  of  rare  and 
beautiful  marbles.  It  has  upper  and  lower  windows,  be- 
tween which  a  narrow  bronze  gallery  runs  around  the  entire 
room.  The  room  can  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage  from 
this  gallery,  from  which  we  look  down  upon  a  busy  scene 
of  people  cashing  drafts  and  checks  and  changing  money  at 
the  costly  marble  counter  extending  the  entire  length  of  the 
room.  The  daily  transactions  run  far  up  into  the  millions. 
Here  are  cashed  the  various  warrants  drawn  upon  the 
Treasury,  and  anyone  can  participate  in  the  operations  by 
presenting  at  one  of  the  windows  a  legal  tender  note  — 
which  is  really  a  warrant  upon  the  Treasury  —  and  asking 
for  gold  or  silver  in  exchange.  Or  'if  you  have  a  lot  of 
dirty,  torn  or  worn-out  U.  S.  notes,  you  may  here  exchange 
them  for  clean,  crisp  notes,  fresh  from  the  reserve  vault. 

Look  at  this  old  dollar  bill,  soiled  and  crumpled,  which 
not  long  ago  went  out  from  the  Treasury,  bright,  fresh,  and 
clean.  Since  then  it  has  nestled  in  the  dainty  purses  of  fair 
women,  been  folded  in  the  plethoric  pocket  books  of  million- 
aires, and  crushed  in  the  grimy  hands  of  many  sons  of  toil. 
"The  butcher,  the  baker,  the  candlestick  maker"  have  each 
had  possession  of  it.  It  has  passed  from  workman  to 
grocer,  to  jeweler,  to  fishmonger,  to  milliner,  and  to  black- 
smith; it  has  slipped  into  contribution  plates,  bought 
theater  tickets,  and  passed  over  the  counters  of  saloons ;  it 
has  ridden  on  trolley  cars,  railroads,  and  steamboats ;  it  has 
been  in  and  out  of  banks  and  in  and  out  of  pockets  times 
innumerable ;  it  is  defaced  with  ink  from  some  printer's 
hands,  soot  from  some  blacksmith's  shop,  and  grease  from 
some  butcher's  market ;  it  has  lain  on  gamblers'  tables,  and 
been  bestowed  in  worthy  charity  ;  it  has  eased  the  burden 
of  the  poor,  been  hoarded  by  the  miser,  clutched  by  the  bur- 
glar, and  slipped  through  the  hands  of  the  dissipated  spend- 


220  THE  END   OF  ITS  CAREER. 

thrift ;  human  life  may  have  been  sacrificed  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  it,  and  who  knows  but  that  the  blood-stained  hand 
of  the  murderer  has  grasped  it  ? 

Yet  in  its  long  journey  among  all  sorts  of  people,  this 
piece  of  printed  paper  bearing  Uncle  Sam's  promise  to  pay 
has  been  always  a  dollar  and  as  good  as  gold.  It  could 
have  been  brought  to  this  great  Cash  Room  at  any  time  and 
a  new  dollar  would  have  been  given  in  exchange  for  it. 
Even  now  we  might  send  it  out  again,  smutty,  ragged,  and 
worn  as  it  is,  for  another  zigzag  journey  in  a  busy  world. 
But  why  not  take  pity  on  it,  and  let  it  rest  after  its  strange 
vicissitudes,  especially  when  by  just  passing  it  over  this 
ma.rble  counter  we  can  get  for  it  a  bright  new  bill  with  a 
future  before  it  \  We  pass  it  in  and  take  the  crisp  new  dol- 
lar. But  alas !  by  that  very  operation  our  old  dollar  ceases 
to  be  a  dollar.  It  cannot  retire  on  its  record  and  quietly 
maintain  a  comfortable  existence  like  a  retired  army  officer. 
In  passing  it  in  we  have  sealed  its  fate,  for  after  receiving 
ceremonious  attention  in  the  Redemption  Division  it  will  be 
ruthlessly  cut  to  pieces  and  soaked  into  unrecognizable  pulp, 
as  if  it  were  guilty  of  some  terrible  crime  and  no  penalty 
was  too  severe  for  it. 

The  complete  history  of  a  dollar,  its  travels  and  all  that 
it  does,  good  and  bad,  can  never  be  written,  for  no  one  fol- 
lows it  or  can  follow  it.  We  can  only  follow  its  history  as 
it  is  transformed  from  a  piece  of  worthless  white  paper  into 
a  dollar  "as  good  as  gold,"  and  again  when  it  returns  to  its 
home  to  pass,  a  ragged,  dirty  thing,  to  its  fina.1  doom. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MYSTERIES  OF  THE  TREASURY— HOW  UNCLE  SAM'S  MONEY 

IS  MADE  — WOMAN'S  WORK  IN  THE  TREASURY  — 

WHAT  THEY  DO  AND  HOW  THEY  DO  IT. 

The  Story  of  a  Greenback  —  The  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  — 
The  Great  Black  Wagon  of  the  Treasury  —  Guarded  by  Armed  Men 
—  Extraordinary  Safeguards  and  Precautions  —  $4,000,000  in  Twelve 
Pounds  of  Paper  —  200  Tons  of  Silver — Some  Awe-Struck  People  — 
Placing  Obstacles  in  the  Way  of  Counterfeiters  —  How  the  Original 
Plates  Are  Guarded  —  Where  and  How  the  Plates  Are  Destroyed  — 
Secret  Inks  —  Grimy  Printers  and  Busy  Women  —  Who  Pays  for  the 
Losses  —  Why  Every  Bank  Bill  Must  Differ  in  One  Respect  from 
Every  Other  —  Marvelous  Rapidity  and  Accuracy  of  the  Counters  — 
The  Last  Count  of  All  —  Wonderful  Dexterity  of  Trained  Eyes  and 
Hands  —  Counting  $25,000,000  a  Week.* 


PAPER  dollar,  you  must  remember,  is  not  really 
a  dollar  but  simply  a  representative  for  a  dollar. 
~No  paper  dollar  is  now  issued  by  Uncle  Sam 
that  does  not  have  its  real  self  packed  away  in 
,one  of  those  bags  in  the  silver  vault,  or  in  one  of  the 
boxes  of  bullion,  or  in  one  of  the  glittering  heaps  of 
the  gold  reserve  of  the  Treasury.  Gold  and  silver,  either 
in  coin  or  bullion,  are  too  heavy  to  be  good  travelers,  and 
however  much  people  long  to  own  them,  they  do  not  fancy 
carrying  them  about.  So  for  convenience  paper  bills 
are  issued  to  represent  them,  and  they  pass  current  easily 
and  lightly  so  long  as  they  last,  but  their  life  is  a  short  one. 
And  thus  it  happens  that  while  Uncle  Sam  is  continually 
pouring  out  paper  money  at  the  rate  of  over  $1,000,000  a 
day,  he  is  adding  nothing  in  this  way  to  the  money  in 

(223) 


224:  A  GREAT  PAPER-MONEY  FACTORY. 

the  hands  of  the  people.  The  number  of  government  notes 
for  which  the  gold  reserve  is  held  is  limited  by  law  to 
$346,000,000  ;  the  amount  of  silver  certificates  is  limited  to 
the  number  of  actual  silver  dollars  in  the  vaults ;  and  the 
amount  of  Treasury  notes,  which  came  into  existence  by 
virtue  of  the  Sherman  Silver  Purchase  Act  of  1890  and 
repealed  in  1893,  is  limited  to  the  amount  of  bullion  so  pur- 
chased and  now  held.  As  over  $1,000,000  of  this  worn-out 
paper  money  is  received  at  the  Treasury  from  banks  and 
other  sources  every  day,  the  great  paper-money  factory  of 
the  government  is  kept  busy  manufacturing  new  bills  to 
take  the  place  of  old  ones. 

The  history  of  a  paper  dollar,  therefore,  begins  at  a 
paper  mill,  and  at  the  very  inception  of  its  manufacture 
Uncle  Sam  institutes  a  severe  scrutiny  and  maintains  ex- 
traordinary safeguards  against  counterfeiting;  precautions 
which  are  never  neglected  throughout  the  whole  operation. 
The  paper  must  be  made  at  one  mill,  and  no  other  firm  is 
allowed  to  make  paper  like  it;  indeed,  the  method  is  a 
trade  secret,  and  the  law  provides  not  only  against  its  imita- 
tion but  against  the  possession  of  any  of  it  by  unauthorized 
persons.  It  is  now  made  at  the  Crane  Mills  at  Dalton, 
Mass.,  and  the  machines  are  provided  with  automatic  regis- 
ters by  which  the  mill  owners  have  to  account  to  the 
government  for  every  square  inch  of  paper  turned  out, 
the  key  of  the  register  being  in  the  hands  of  a  government 
inspector  who  receives  the  paper,  counts  it,  and  holds  it 
carefully  guarded  until  shipped. 

The  paper  stock  is  made  of  duck  cloth  and  canvas 
clippings,  and  in  it  are  interwoven  fine  silk  fibrous  threads, 
red  and  blue,  made  in  a  factory  near  the  paper  mill.  These 
threads  are  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  counterfeiters, 
and  being  distributed  differently  on  each  of  the  various 
issues  of  notes  they  may  become  important  helps  in  their 
identification  later  on.  The  paper  is  cut  into  sheets  eight 


PRECAUTIONS  AGAINST   COUNTERFEITING.  226 

and  a  quarter  inches  wide  and  thirteen  and  a  half  inches 
long,  or  just  the  size  of  four  bank  bills.  It  takes  just 
1,000  sheets  to  weigh  twelve  pounds,  and  as  these  sheets 
will  make  4,000  one-dollar  bills,  they  take  the  place  of  over 
200  pounds  of  silver  dollars  in  the  vaults;  if  two-dollar 
bills,  twice  as  much,  and  so  on.  A  thousand  sheets  will 
make  $4,000,000  of  1,000  dollar  certificates,  in  which  case 
twelve  pounds  of  paper  is  made  to  do  the  work  of  over  200 
tons  of  silver. 

When  the  paper  reaches  Washington,  it  is  placed  under 
lock  and  key  in  the  basement  of  the  Treasury,  ready  to  be 
sent  to  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  in  quantities 
as  desired.  For  many  years  after  the  government  began  to 
issue  paper  money,  the  plates  were  engraved  and  printed  by 
private  corporations ;  but  partly  as  a  greater  safeguard 
against  the  possibilities  of  counterfeiting,  the  government 
decided  to  do  a  portion  of  the  engraving  and  printing  itself. 
So,  notwithstanding  the  strenuous  objection  of  the  bank 
note  companies,  Uncle  Sam  for  a  time  printed  the  face  of 
the  notes  and  allowed  the  companies  to  print  the  backs. 
This  was  not  always  satisfactory,  and  little  by  little  as  the 
government  became  more  proficient  in  the  work,  it  took 
more  and  more  of  it  upon  itself  and  now  does  it  all,  and 
under  such  conditions  that  counterfeiting  has  become  an 
extremely  difficult  and  dangerous  enterprise. 

At  first  the  Engraving  and  Printing  was  carried  on  in 
the  basement  of  the  Treasury  building,  but  the  light  was 
poor,  and  as  the  space  became  insufficient,  owing  to  the 
constantly-increasing  demands  made  upon,  it,  the  plant  was 
transferred  to  the  attic.  This,  too,  finally  became  inade- 
quate, and  Congress  appropriated  $330,000  for  a  site  and  a 
building  to  be  used  exclusively  for  the  engraving  and  print- 
ing of  notes,  as  well  as  postage  and  revenue  stamps,  com- 
missions, bonds,  and  passports.  The  building,  which  was 
completed  in  1880,  stands  not  far  from  the  Washington 
13 


226  GUARDING   THE   PAPER. 

Monument,  overlooking  the  Mall  on  one  side  and  the 
Potomac  flats  on  the  other.  It  is  the  most  complete  en- 
graving plant  in  the  world,  and  the  specimens  of  its  work 
have  in  recent  years  taken  the  highest  awards  at  the  great 
fairs  of  Europe  and  America. 

To  this  building,  therefore,  we  must  go  to  follow  the 
process  of  the  evolution  of  our  dollar.  If  we  start  at  the 
right  time  in  the  morning  we  may  overtake  a  great  black 
wagon,  closely  covered  on  all  sides,  two  stalwart  men  with 
revolvers  in  their  pockets  keeping  the  -driver  company,  while 
three  others,  similarly  armed,  ride  on  the  broad  step  at  the 
rear.  This  wagon  conveys  the  packages  of  paper  to  the 
printing  plant,  and  returns  with  printed  notes  every  day. 
~No  one  has  ever  attempted  a  highway  robbery  of  this 
wagon,  but  its  armed  escort  is  never  absent. 

So  very  careful  is  the  government  not  to  take  any 
chances  at  any  stage  of  the  process,  that  the  average  visitor 
to  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  sees  but  a  part, 
and  then  only  by  looking  through  wire  screens,  behind 
which  he  beholds  men  and  women  busily  at  work  amid 
stacks  of  this  precious  paper.  JSTor  is  one  allowed  to  wander 
where  he  likes,  but  when  a  little  group  of  visitors  has  gath- 
ered in  the  reception-room  —  as  they  are  sure  to  do  every 
few  minutes  every  day  —  a  young  woman  with  a  marvel- 
ously  glib  tongue  requests  the  group  to  follow  her,  and  she 
leads  the  way  through  those  rooms  open  to  visitors.  Again 
and  again  during  the  day  she  —  as  well  as  others,  for 
another  party  collects  generally  long  before  one  has  had 
time  to  go  the  rounds  —  repeats  the  same  story  to  a  group 
of  interested  and  astonished  people  who  come  from  all  over 
the  world.  Her  sympathizing  sisters  will  ask  her  if  she 
does  not  find  it  very  tiresome  saying  the  same  thing  over 
and  over  again,  every  day  in  the  week,  year  in  and  year  out, 
and  she  will  smile  sweetly  and  say  that  sometimes  she 
does ;  and  they  will  ask  her  how  much  she  gets  for  it,  and 


EXPERT   DESIGNERS  AND   ENGRAVERS.  229 

she  will  tell  them  $1.50  a  day,  just  as  if  everybody  had 
a  perfect  right  to  know.  Others  will  try  to  encourage  her 
by  saying  that  it  must  be  agreeable  to  meet  so  many  people 
and  tell  them  so  many  things  they  never  knew  before ;  and 
she  will  smile  again,  just  a  little  incredulously,  and  beckon 
another  party  to  follow  her  around  ;  and  when  after  her 
weary  day's  work  she  goes  to  her  boarding-house,  she  very 
likely  thinks,  just  as  do  many  of  the  women  employees, 
that  her  position  is  by  no  means  a  sinecure. 

But  to  follow  the  making  of  a  dollar  in  all  its  details, 
we  must  obtain  a  special  permit,  and  this  will  take  us  into 
rooms  not  usually  shown  to  visitors.  We  will  enter  the 
engraving-room  first.  The  first  step  in  making  a  bank  note 
is  to  draw  the  design.  The  government  changes  the 
designs  of  its  notes  and  stamps  frequently,  and  those  of  the 
various  denominations  always  differ.  A  corps  of  expert 
designers  are  employed  for  this  purpose,  and  when  their 
work  is  finished  and  approved  it  is  turned  over  to  the 
engravers.  Of  these  none  but  the  most  skillful  are  em- 
ployed, some  of  them  receiving  salaries  as  high  as  $6,000 
a  year.  The  fine  head  of  an  American  Indian  on  the  five- 
dollar  certificates  is  the  \Vbrk  of  one  of  these  high-priced 
men,  whose  skill  is  not  surpassed  by  anyone  in  the  world, 
and  this  in  itself  is  a  good  insurance  against  successful 
counterfeiting.  Sitting  in  a  long  row  before  the  windows 
on  the  north  of  the  first  floor  of  the  building,  with  shades 
so  arranged  as  to  furnish  the  best  possible  light,  and  sepa- 
rated by  screens  so  that  each  enjoys  the  privacy  of  a  com- 
partment of  his  own,  these  men,  each  an  artist  in  his  line, 
laboriously  engrave  upon  steel  the  designs  for  notes,  bonds, 
stamps,  etc. 

So  many  phases  of  consummate  skill  are  necessary  to 
the  completion  of  a  single  dollar  note,  that  "  many  men  of 
many  minds"  are  required  to  perfect  a  single  plate.  No 
one  of  these  experts  engraves  a  whole  plate.  If  a  dozen 


230  A  WONDERFUL  ENGRAVING  MACHINE. 

men  were  to  engrave  the  same  design  on  as  many  steel 
plates,  no  matter  how  careful  or  expert  they  might  be,  there 
would  inevitably  exist  in  the  finished  plates  slight  differ- 
ences which  would  make  the  work  of  counterfeiters  com- 
paratively easy;  for  if  variations  in  genuine  notes  existed, 
the  variations  in  counterfeited  notes  might  pass  undetected. 
Besides,  the  government  does  not  consider  it  a  good  plan 
for  any  one  engraver  to  be  proficient  in  engraving  every 
part  of  a  note ;  such  an  engraver,  if  dishonest,  might  make 
considerable  trouble.  A  single  engraver,  therefore,  does 
only  a  portion  of  a  design — one  the  portrait,  another  the 
eagle,  another  the  goddess  of  liberty,  another  the  scroll,  and 
so  on.  Each  man  becomes  proficient  in  his  own  line,  and 
too  expert  to  be  imitated  successfully  by  a  man  in  another 
line. 

But  this  is  only  one  of  the  many  safeguards.  Look 
closely  at  a  bank  note  and  you  will  see  many  lines,  involved 
and  intricate,  running  to  and  fro  in  the  most  marvelous 
manner.  They  defy  imitation,  and  are  the  best  tantalizer 
and  detective  of  the  most  accurate  counterfeiter.  This 
maze  of  curving  lines  is  the  work  of  the  geometric  lathe,  a 
remarkable  machine  which  mechanically  engraves  some 
portions  of  the  notes,  such  as  the  borders,  and  the  back- 
ground of  the  figures  in  the  corners.  This  machine  consists 
of  a  complication  of  wheels  of  all  sizes,  eccentrics,  and  rods, 
all  of  which  is  incomprehensible  except  to  an  expert  ma- 
chinist, and  no  one  can  operate  it  at  all  who  does  not 
thoroughly  understand  it.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  the  man 
who  has  charge  of  it  is  the  only  man  in  the  country  who  is 
a  perfect  master  of  such  machines.  Moreover  the  course 
the  mechanical  lines  will  take  depends  upon  the  manner  in 
which  the  combinations  are  set,  and,  so  long  as  this  combi- 
nation is  a  secret,  it  is  practically  as  secure  as  a  combination 
lock  to  a  safe.  As  the  delicate  diamond  point  moves  about 
with  an  accuracy  and  rapidity  impossible  to  hand  work,  it 


MAKING  THE  REPLICAS.  231 

cannot  be  imitated  successfully  by  hand ;  and  as  few  coun- 
terfeiters are  rich,  and  these  machines  cost  a  large  amount 
of  money,  a  serious  obstacle  to  counterfeiting  is  thus  intro- 
duced. Even  if  a  counterfeiter  secured  one  of  these  lathes 
and  a  capable  man  to  run  it,  he  would  still  lack  the  precise 
combination  used  on  particular  portions  of  the  note. 

It  requires  from  six  weeks  to  two  months  for  each 
engraver  to  finish  his  part  of  a  plate,  and  when  all  the  parts 
are  completed  they  are  transferred  to  soft  steel  rollers ;  for 
it  would  not  do  to  print  from  the  original  dies,  for  several 
reasons.  It  would  be  mechanically  impossible  to  print  from 
any  one  original  the  vast  amount  of  money  Uncle  Sam 
issues  every  day,  and  in  the  nature  of  the  case  there  can  be 
but  one  original.  Besides,  every  one  of  the  notes  of  any 
issue  must  be  exactly  alike.  It  is  essential  therefore  to 
transfer  the  engraving  from  the  original  dies  to  plates,  in 
such  a  manner  that  there  shall  be  four  engravings  exactly 
alike  on  each  plate  and  that  there  shall  be  several  plates  of 
the  same  for  use  on  as  many  presses.  A  soft  steel  roller  is 
run  over  the  original  dies  under  great  pressure,  so  that  the 
original  design  is  well  impressed  upon  it.  Then  the  roller  is 
hardened  and  run  over  softened  steel  plates,  four  times  to  a 
plate.  These  plates  are  then  hardened,  and  when  touched 
up  by  the  engravers  are  ready  for  printing,  while  the 
original  dies  are  deposited  in  the  vaults.  If  these  replicas 
are  injured  or  wear  out,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  produce 
new  ones  from  the  original. 

But  while  all  notes  made  are  exact  copies  of  the  original, 
they ,  vary  in  one  little  detail  not  generally  noticed  but 
which  makes  the  greatest  difference  in  identifying  notes. 
Each  one  of  the  replicas  of  four  notes  is  numbered,  and 
marked  by  one  of  the  first  four  letters  of  the  alphabet. 
Looking  closely  at  a  dollar  bill,  you  will  observe  a  small  A, 
B,  C,  or  D,  which  means  that  the  note  was  first,  second, 
third,  or  fourth  on  the  plate,  and  by  looking  a  little  closer 


232  KEEPING  WATCH  OF  THE  PLATES. 

with  a  glass,  the  number  of  the  plate  will  be  discovered 
hiding  just  below  or  alongside  the  letter.  Its  precise  posi- 
tion in  reference  to  the  letter  also  tells  its  story  to  the 
expert. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  original  dies  and  the  rollers 
and  replicas  are  guarded  with  the  greatest  care.  Every 
evening  each  plate  or  piece  that  has  been  out  during  the 
day  must  be  returned  to  the  grim  warding  of  the  large 
vaults  with  double  steel  doors  and  time  locks.  Nothing  can 
be  taken  out  in  the  morning  without  a  process  of  orders, 
checks,  and  receipts,  by  which  someone  becomes  responsible 
for  every  plate  and  piece,  and  he  cannot  leave  the  building 
until  this  responsibility  has  ceased.  At  stated  intervals  a 
committee  of  officials  from  the  Treasury  visit  the  bureau  to 
see  that  everything  is  right,  and  to  pick  out  such  pieces  as 
are  deemed  to  be  no  longer  fit  for  use.  These  are  packed  in 
strong  boxes,  bound  with  iron  bands,  and  under  an  armed 
escort  are  conveyed  to  the  Navy  Yard,  where  they  are 
destroyed  in  a  fiery  furnace. 

We  have  now  reached  the  point  at  which  our  dollar 
takes  more  definite  shape  in  the  hands  of  the  printer.  The 
specially-prepared  paper  which  is  brought  over  from  the 
Treasury  is  in  packages  of  1,000  sheets,  and  this  count  of  a 
thousand  is  kept  up  all  the  way  through.  When  the  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  is  ordered  to  print 
a  certain  number  of  notes  of  a  certain  denomination,  he 
makes  a  requisition  for  just  enough  paper  to  print  them, 
and  he  is  charged  with  the  amount  of  money  the  notes  will 
represent  when  completed.  Thus  this  official  frequently 
owes  the  Treasury  many  millions  of  dollars,  but  the  obliga- 
tion is  discharged  when  the  printed  notes  are  sent  in,  the 
imperfect  notes  being  designated  and  likewise  returned. 

Before  going  to  the  printer  the  paper  goes  through  the 
wetting  process  in  a  long  room  filled  with  tubs  of  water  pre- 
sided over  by  women  who  are  known  as  "  vvetters."  Each 


IN  THE  WETTING-ROOM.  235 

package  of  1,000  sheets  is  given  to  a  counter,  who,  as  she 
counts,  hands  over  every  twenty  sheets  to  a  wetter,  who 
carefully  places  the  sheets  between  cloths  and  immerses 
them  in  the  tub.  These  cloths  must  be  scrupulously  clean, 
and  to  keep  them  so  a  large  laundry  is  connected  with  the 
establishment.  When  the  whole  package  is  thus  treated  it  is 
placed  under  pressure  and  allowed  to  remain  for  about  four 
hours.  The  sheets  are  then  taken  out,  counted  again,  and 
the  top  sheets  placed  in  the  middle  to  render  the  dampness 
uniform.  The  package  is  thereupon  placed  under  still 
greater  pressure  where  it  remains  till  morning,  awaiting  the 
call  of  the  printer.  Each  printer  is  given  one.  of  these  pack- 
ages and  charged  with  the  same  on  the  books,  the  amount 
always  being  the  face  value  of  the  proposed  notes.  At  the 
close  of  the  day  his  printed  sheets  go  to  the  superintendent, 
who  credits  him  with  them,  and  any  unprinted  ones  are  re- 
turned to  the  wetting  division,  where  he  also  receives  credit. 

Extensive  experiments  have  been  made  with  inks,  in  at- 
tempts to  secure  a  chemical  mixture  which  will  afford  safe 
guard  against  counterfeiters,  but  little  can  be  done  beyond 
using  the  best  and  most  expensive  quality.  The  black  ink  is 
now  furnished  by  contract,  and  the  mixture  is  said  to  be  a 
valuable  secret.  The  government  makes  its  colored  inks 
after  the  best  chemical  formula,  and  we  shall  see  later,  when 
observing  the  work  of  the  Secret  Service,  that  at  least  on 
one  occasion,  the  quality  of  a  carmine  ink  led  to  the  detection 
of  a  counterfeit  which,  before  the  ink  had  faded,  had  been 
held  by  experts  to  be  a  genuine  note. 

Entering  the  printing-room,  which  covers  the  entire  floor 
of  the  building,  we  seem  at  first  to  have  come  upon  a  gen- 
uine pandemonium.  The  air  is  full  of  wild  and  confusing 
motions  as  the  long  hand  spokes  of  the  presses  are  rapidly 
whirled  back  and  forth,  and  sheets  of  greenbacks  flutter  in 
the  hands  of  150  women.  As  many  men  are  working  as  if 
mad.  Their  bare  arms  are  smeared  to  the  elbow  with  ink, 


236  PRINTING  THE  BILLS. 

and  their  perspiring  faces  are  begrimed  with  it.  The  room 
is  uncomfortably  hot,  for  at  each  one  of  these  hand  presses 
is  a  series  of  gas  jets  to  heat  the  little  table  on  which  the 
printer  rests  the  plate  while  he  thoroughly  rubs  in  the  ink. 
All  is  noise  and  confusion,  and  yet  every  one  of  these  hun- 
dreds of  flying  sheets  of  money  is  identified.  If  one  were 
lost  not  one  of  these  three  hundred  men  and  women  could 
leave  the  building  till  it  was  found  ;  but  none  is  ever  lost. 

As  the  printer  takes  the  plate  he  rapidly  runs  the  ink 
roller  back  and  forth  over  it,  and  placing  it  on  the  heated 
table  as  rapidly  wipes  the  ink  off,  so  that  only  that  portion 
which  fills  the  engraved  lines  remains.  He  then  polishes 
the  margin  of  the  plate  with  whiting  applied  with  the  black- 
ened palm  of  his  hand,  for  nothing  has  been  devised  for  this 
purpose  that  will  take  the  place  of  the  human  hand.  All 
this  must  be  done  with  the  utmost  nicety  to  produce  a  good 
impression,  yet  one  does  not  notice  any  evidence  of  special 
care,  for  each  printer  appears  to  be  working  with  all  the 
speed  of  which  he  is  capable.  He  is  paid  by  the  piece. 
Like  a  flash  he  slides  the  inked  plate  upon  its  bed  on  the  press, 
and  at  the  same  instant  the  helpmate  of  his  toil,  a  young 
woman  standing  at  the  other  side  of  the  press,  places  a  sheet 
of  the  precious  paper  accurately  on  the  plate ;  then  grasp- 
ing the  long  blackened  handles  of  the  press  the  printer 
pulls  them  carefully  around  until  the  plate  and  its  printed 
sheet  emerge  on  the  other  side.  The  young  woman  now 
carefully  lifts  the  sheet  from  the  plate,  and  lo !  at  last  the 
beautiful  new  dollar !  She.  closely  examines  it  to  see  if  it  is 
perfect.  If  it  is,  she  places  it  on  the  table  at  her  side ;  if  she 
thinks  it  is  imperfect  and  the  printer  agrees  with  her,  a  rent 
is  torn  in  the  sheet  and  it  is  laid  aside.  If  both  are  unde- 
cided it  is  left  to  the  expert  examiners  who  pass  upon  it  later. 
An  automatic  register  is  attached  to  each  press  so  that 
every  impression  is  recorded  and  another  check  is  thus  made 
on  the  counters  and  printers.  The  registers  are  locked  and 


WORKING  NIGHT  AND   DAY.  237 

the  keys  are  always  in  the  hands  of  the  proper  officials  who, 
at  the  end  of  the  day's  work,  examine  the  instrument  and 
compare  its  figures  with  the  number  of  sheets  printed  and 
wasted.  Axiy  loss  unaccounted  for  must  come  out  of  the 
salary  of  the  printer  and  his  assistant.  Such  occurrences 
are  extremely  rare,  but  the  rule  holds,  not  only  through 
each  of  the  fourteen  divisions  of  the  bureau,  but  in  the 
various  divisions  of  the  Treasury  where  the  money  is 
handled. 

The  300  men  and  women  we  see  working  so  rapidly  in 
this  large  room,  turning  out  dollars  like  corn  from  a 
sheller,  are  but  a  quarter  of  those  regularly  employed  here. 
When  revenue  stamps  were  in  great  demand  it  required  three 
shifts  of  300  persons  each  to  keep  up  with  the  demand  for 
money  and  stamps.  As  soon  as  one  shift  went  out,  another 
came  in,  and  the  presses  were  flying  all  the  time,  night  and 
day.  In  the  hot  summer  days  and  nights  the  temperature 
of  the  room  rose  to  a  fearful  height,  the  many  gas  jets  add- 
ing their  quota  to  the  stifling  atmosphere.  It  was  not  a 
pleasant  sight  to  see  so  many  young  women  standing  all  day 
at  these  presses,  even  though  their  work  was  light  compared 
with  that  of  the  agile  printers.  They  received  $1.25  a  day 
for  their  services,  which  Avas  more  than  was  paid  for  similar 
work  in  private  establishments  ;  yet  none  but  the  strongest 
could  endure  the  strain  a  great  while,  and  there  was  a  con- 
stant call  for  recruits  in  those  busy  times. 

Although  the  capacity  of  the  bureau  is  often  put  to  a 
test  to  meet  the  current  demand  for  money  and  bonds,  it  is 
but  a  portion  of  its  work,  for  here  also  are  printed  4,000,- 
000,000  postage  stamps  a  year,  to  say  nothing  of  revenue 
stamps.  Some  of  the  processes  in  making  stamps  are  unique 
and  interesting,  but  we  will  return  later  to  observe  them,  and 
meantime  we  must  follow  our  dollar. 

After  the  sheets  are  printed  on  both  sides,  and  have  been 
passed  by  the  official  who  keeps  a  complete  record  of  their 


238  PRESSING  AND   STAMPING. 

number,  they  pass  into  the  counting  and  examining  division, 
where  they  are  counted  by  women  who  do  nothing  but 
count,  count,  count,  all  day  long  week  after  week  and  year 
after  year.  Seated  at  their  long  tables,  with  heads  decked 
with  curious  paper  caps  worn  to  protect  their  eyes  from  the 
strong  light,  their  hands  fly  through  the  piles  of  greenbacks 
and  bonds  with  marvelous  rapidity  and  accuracy.  After 
this  count  the  sheets  go  to  the  drying-room  in  which  a  tem- 
perature of  120  degrees  is  maintained,  and  from  which  the 
sheets  are  received  in  a  very  wrinkled  condition  by  expert 
examiners  who  are  supposed  to  detect  the  slightest  blemish. 
Every  dollar  must  be  absolutely  perfect.  Imperfect  sheets 
are  thrown  aside  to  find  their  way  to  destruction,  but  a 
complete  record  is  kept  of  them.  The  perfect  sheets  are 
then  placed  under  the  enormous  pressure  of  over  200  tons, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  they  reappear  with  that  smoothness  and 
crispness  characteristic  of  brand-new  bills. 

While  every  bill  of  each  denomination  is  supposed  to  be 
exactly  alike,  in  one  respect  they  are  all  dissimilar.  Each  must 
have  an  individuality,  so  that  if  stolen  it  can  be  identified. 
To  secure  this  the  printed  sheets  are  taken  to  a  division 
where  rattling  little  machines  fill  the  room  with  noise,  but 
where,  unlike  the  press-room,  everything  is  bright  and  clean. 
The  numbers  in  the  upper  right-  and  lower  left-hand  corners 
of  our  dollar  are  here  stamped  by  these  noisy  little  machines 
run  by  women.  The  work  requires  great  skill  and  experi- 
ence, and  mistakes  are  frequent,  each  woman  being  allowed 
to  spoil  ten  out  of  every  thousand  sheets,  though  when  thor- 
oughly skilled  they  seldom  spoil  as  many  as  that.  Spoiled 
sheets  are  punched  full  of  little  holes  and  laid  aside  for  de- 
struction. There  are  many  fatalities  even  in  the  infancy  of 
a  dollar. 

The  sheets  are  now  ready  to  be  returned  to  the  Treasury, 
but  they  await  the  journey  behind  strong  vault  doors  pro- 
vided with  half  a  hundred  bolts  and  a  time  lock,  so  that  no 


A  FASCINATING  SPECTACLE.  241 

man  or  set  of  men  can  open  them  till  the  time  for  the  great 
black  wagon  to  arrive.  Often  there  are  over  200,000,000 
dollars  worth  of  bonds  and  money  in  this  vault. 

Arriving  there  every  morning  at  9  o'clock,  the  packages, 
still  uncut,  go  through  another  of  the  counting  tests  to 
verify  the  account  between  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and 
Printing  and  the  Division  of  Issue.  This  over,  the  sheets 
pass  to  the  sealing-room,  where  large  presses  stamp  upon 
each  note  the  seal  of  the  Register  of  the  Treasury,  in  red  or 
blue  according  to  the  denomination  and  character  of  the 
note.  A  group  of  visitors  is  nearly  always  seen  standing 
before  the  screen  which  separates  the  presses  from  the  pub- 
lic halls,  fascinated  by  the  sight  of  so  many  sheets  of  money 
dropping  in  rapid  regularity  before  their  eyes  —  thousands 
and  thousands  of  dollars  at  a  time.  In  more  than  one  spec- 
tator there  wells  up  a  feeling  that  where  it  is  so  easy  to 
make  money,  it  ought  not  to  be  so  difficult  to  get  it.  He 
thinks  how  happy  he  might  be  if  he  could  only  hold  his 
hand  under  one  of  the  presses  for  but  five  minutes;  and  it 
is  hard  to  explain  to  some  visitors  that  these  paper  bills  are 
not  real  money  but  only  its  shadow,  and  that  if  everyone 
could  have  all  he  wanted  of  the  paper  it  would  not  be  worth 
anything  to  anybody. 

The  sheets  now  go  to  the  cutting-room,  where  another 
small  army  of  women  in  clean  attire  and  dainty  white 
aprons  are  in  strong  contrast  with  the  women  of  the  wet- 
ting-tubs and  the  hand-presses.  It  is  here  that  our  dollars 
cease  to  march  in  fours  and  break  into  single  file.  The 
sheets  are  stacked  up  in  piles  with  the  utmost  nicety  and 
passed  under  the  cutters  —  little  guillotines  whose  shining 
blades  easily  slide  through  the  paper,  thus  separating  the 
four  notes  at  a  single  stroke,  each  note  passing  into  its 
proper  place  to  be  tied  up  in  a  standard  package.  How 
swift  the  process  compared  with  that  of  a  few  years  ago. 
Formerly  the  cutting  was  done  by  a  bevy  of  women  armed 


242  WOMEN  AND   SCISSORS. 

with  long  shears, — the  first  work  ever  performed  by  women 
in  the  departments,  —  and  it  came  about  in  this  way : 

In  the  Civil  War  days,  when  tens  of  thousands  of  men 
were  withdrawn  from  civil  labor,  and  when  one  day's  ex- 
pense to  the  government  equaled  a  whole  year's  in  the 
time  of  George  Washington,  Treasurer  Spinner  went  to 
Secretary  Chase  and  said :  "  A  woman  can  use  scissors  bet- 
ter than  a  man,  and  she  will  do  it  cheaper.  I  want  to  em- 
ploy women  to  cut  the  Treasury  notes."  Mr.  Chase  con- 
sented, and  soon  the  great  rooms  of  the  Treasury  witnessed 
the  unwonted  sight  of  hundreds  of  women,  scissors  in  hand, 
cutting  and  trimming  each  Treasury-note  sheet  into  four 
separate  notes.  Washington  was  full  of  needy  women; 
women  whom  the  exigencies  of  war  had  suddenly  bereft  of 
protection  and  home.  Every  poor  woman  who  applied  to 
the  good  Treasurer  was  given  work  if  he  had  it.  A  pair  of 
scissors  were  placed  in  her  hands,  and  she  was  told  to  go  at 
it.  The  shears  have  long  since  vanished,  but  the  women 
have  remained,  and  furthermore  have  invaded  every  depart- 
ment of  the  government  and  proved  their  right  to  hold 
their  positions  by  their  steady  application,  superior  skill, 
and  the  wonderful  accuracy  they  have  shown. 

Another  count;  the  last  of  the  fifty-two  which  marks 
the  long  process,  and  the  most  expert  and  interesting  count 
of  all.  Here  are  more  than  fifty  maids  and  matrons,  count- 
ing the  new  notes,  our  dollar  among  the  rest.  Crinkling, 
fluttering,  flying,  the  dollars!  Serene,  silent,  swift,  the 
women !  That  anything  can  be  counted  so  rapidly  and  yet 
so  accurately,  defies  belief.  It  is  the  marvel  of  this  count- 
ing, that  it  is  as  infallible  as  it  is  speedy.  The  fingers  of 
the  women  play  the  part  of  perfected  machinery,  the  num- 
bered notes  passing  through  them  with  the  celerity  and 
regularity  of  automatic  action.  You  could  not  count  the 
rapid  movements  of  the  fingers  of  any  one  of  these  women 
if  you  tried,  and  yet  as  she  unties  a  package,  holds  it  up  in 


THE  FINAL  INSPECTION.  245 

her  left  hand  with  the  face  of  the  notes  upward  and  with 
her  right  lifts  the  upper  right-hand  end  of  every  one  of  the 
4,000  notes,  she  not  only  counts  but  scans  each  note  for  im- 
perfections in  texture,  printing,  sealing,  or  cutting,  and  sees 
that  the  numbering  is  in  due  order  and  that  none  are  miss- 
ing. It  is  a  revelation  of  what  the  trained  eye  and  hand 
and  mind  can  do. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  habitual  application  to 
routine  work  breeds  carelessness  and  a  sort  of  mental  blind- 
ness, but  here* more  than  fifty  women  count  with  unwearied 
vigilance,  discernment,  and  accuracy,  at  a  speed  so  extraor- 
dinary that  each  one  of  them  passes  through  her  hands  an 
average  of  32,000  notes  a  day,  nearly  two  for  every  second 
she  works!  So  trained  have  their  eyes  become  that  the 
slightest  irregularity  of  form  or  color  is  noted.  This  per- 
fection of  mathematical  movement  is  acquired  only  by  long 
practice  and  by  one  order  of  intellect.  There  are  persons 
who  can  never  acquire  this  unerring  accuracy  of  mind  and 
motion  combined.  The  counting  is  facilitated,  indeed  made 
possible,  by  the  fact  that  the  notes  as  they  fall  from  the 
cutting  machine  lie  in  exact  progression  of  number,  so  that 
the  counter  need  only  take  cognizance  of  the  final  unit,  sure 
that  so  long  as  these  run  continuously  no  mistake  has  been 
made ;  but  to  guard  against  any  possible  error  the  notes  are 
here  counted  five  times  by  different  counters.  Through  the 
swiftly-flying  fingers  of  these  deft  women  has  passed  every 
dollar  in  circulation,  and  every  dollar  of  the  million  a  day 
that  is  constantly  going  out  must  pass  through  their  hands, 
and  all  the  bonds  as  well.  No  one  in  the  world  has  handled 
so  many  dollars  as  they,  and  yet  very  few  of  these  dollars 
go  to  them.  For  less  than  twenty-five  dollars  a  week  they 
count  25,000,000  of  dollars. 

Having  thus  received  the  final  count,  the  money  is  en- 
trusted to  the  sealing  clerk,  whose  duty  it  is  to  wrrap  the 
packages  and  seal  them  with  the  special  seal  of  the  Issue 


246  BEGINNING  ITS   CAREER. 

Division  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  then 
go  to  the  vaults,  there  to  await  the  call  of  the  Treasurer 
and  the  mandate  of  Uncle  Samuel.  Thus  our  dollar  is  fin- 
ished. After  all  these  processes  and  all  these  counts,  which 
one  might  think  would  have  worn  it  to  shreds,  it  is  at  last 
ready  for  its  adventurous  career  in  the  busy  world.  Some 
day,  when  the  doors  of  the  great  vault  open,  our  new  dollar 
goes  out  and  into  the  outstretched  hands  of  some  one  of  the 
tens  of  thousands  who  are  clamoring  to  obtain  possession  of 
it.  Its  unsullied  purity  will  not  last  long. 

If  it  endures  the  hardships  of  its  public  career,  if  it  is 
not  burned  to  ashes  in  some  conflagration,  chewed  up  by  some 
animal,  or  lost  in  some  place  never  to  be  found,  it  will  re- 
turn to  its  birthplace  in  about  three  years,  possibly  sooner, 
looking  very  shabby  and  very  wretched.  By  that  time  it 
will  have  grown  tired  of  the  world  and  returned  home  to 
die. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

EXTRAORDINARY   PRECAUTIONS    AGAINST    COUNTERFEIT 
ERS,  BURGLARS,  AND   THIEVES  — WOMEN  AS  EX- 
PERT COUNTERFEIT  DETECTORS  — THE 
FUNERAL  OF  A  DOLLAR. 

Coming  Home  To  Die  —  Ill-Smelling  Companions  —  A  Dirty-Looking  Mob 
of  Dollars  —  The  Experts'  Secluded  Corner  —  Among  Shreds  and 
Patches  of  Money — Chewed  by  Pigs  and  Rescued  from  a  Slaughter 
House  —  Taken  from  the  Bodies  of  the  Dead  —  An  Iowa  Farmer's  Ex 
perience  —  A  Michigan  Tax  Collector  and  His  Goat  —  Women's  Skill 
in  Restoring  Worn-out  Money  —  Bills  Reeking  with  Filth  —  Detecting 
Counterfeits  —  A  Woman's  Instinct — "That's  Counterfeit!"  —  How 
the  Treasury  Was  Swindled  by  a  Woman  —  An  Ingenious  Device  — 
Some  Precious  Packages  —  The  Return  of  the  Dollar  —  Nearing  Its 
End  —  From  a  Palace  to  "  a  Pig's  Stomach  "  —  The  Macerater  —  Chew- 
ing Up  Over  $166,000.000  at  One  Gulp  —  The  Funeral  of  a  Dollar  — 
"  Pulp  It  Was  ;  to  Pulp  It  Has  Returned. Ji 


UR  dollar  is  not  allowed  to  die  peacefully. 
Counted  at  every  stage  of  its  growth  from  a 
piece  of  white  paper  to  a  full-fledged  note; 
counted  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people 
in  its  migratory  career,  it  comes  back  tattered  and 
torn  only  to  be  counted  and  counted  again.  For  it 
stands  for  a  dollar  so  long  as  it  is  in  existence.  It  cannot 
enter  into  its  rest  until  a  new  dollar  goes  out  to  take  its 
place,  and  a  new  dollar  must  not  go  out  until  the  govern- 
ment is  sure  that  the  old  one  is  not  a  counterfeit.  To  verify 
this  there  is  another  force  of  counters  in  the  Redemption 
Division,  women  whose  deft  and  delicate  fingers  are  cease- 
lessly busy  detecting  counterfeits,  or  identifying,  restoring, 

(349) 


250          MONEY  IN  SHREDS  AND  TATTERS. 

counting,  and  registering  worn-out  bills  which  have  come 
home  to  be  "  redeemed."  Each  counter  sits  at  a  table  by 
herself,  that  the  money  committed  to  her  care  may  not 
become  mixed  with  that  to  be  counted  by  any  other  person. 

Our  dollar  bill  does  not  come  back  alone,  like  a  forlorn 
prodigal.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  great  cloud  of  ill-smelling 
witnesses  —  the  dirtiest-looking  mob  of  dollars  you  ever 
saw.  Thousands  are  received  daily  from  banks  and  sub- 
treasuries,  and  the  receiving-room  is  always  piled  high  with 
them.  The  receiving  clerk  delivers  the  packages,  still 
sealed,  to  the  expert  counters,  each  of  whom  receipts  for 
the  packages  she  receives  and  becomes  responsible  for  the 
whole  amount  till  it  leaves  her  hands.  Having  verified  the 
count  in  the  package,  the  notes  are  sorted  out  into  packages 
of  one  hundred  notes  each  and  bound  with  a  manilla  wrap- 
per. Fragments  are  turned  over  to  special  women  experts 
for  identification. 

These  experts  work  in  a  secluded  corner  amid  shreds 
and  patches  of  money,  or  what  was  once  money,  our  dollar, 
perhaps,  included.  Every  piece  presents  a  problem  which, 
though  difficult  of  solution,  has  its  compensations  in  the  spe- 
cial features  it  may  afford  for  the  ingenuity  of  the  patient 
expert.  The  women  do  their  work  with  surprising  accu- 
racy and  dexterity,  though  it  is  far  from  pleasant,  for  the 
money  is  sometimes  frightful'  stuff,  exhaling  a  shocking  odor. 

The  identification  and  restoration  of  defaced  and  muti- 
lated notes  is  a  very  difficult  and  important  operation. 
From  the  toes  of  stockings,  in  which  they  have  been  washed 
and  dissolved ;  from  the  stomachs  of  animals,  and  even  of 
men ;  from  the  bodies  of  drowned  and  murdered  human 
beings;  from  the  lurking  places  of  vice  and  of  deadly  dis- 
ease, these  fragments  of  money,  whose  lines  are  often 
utterly  obliterated,  whose  tissues  emit  the  foulest  odors, 
come  to  the  Treasury,  and  are  committed  wholly  to  the 
supervision  and  skill  of  women. 


MRS.  REV.  STEPHEN  BROWN. 
Over  thirty  years  in  service  of  the  United 
States  Treasury.     The  greatest  living  expert 
in  identifying  burned,  mutilated,  and   unre- 
cognizable money  sent  for  redemption. 


MRS.  PATTI  LYLE  COLLINS. 
Twenty-five    years   in    the    Dead    Letter 
Office.     The  greatest    living    expert    in    de- 
ciphering illegible  and  defective  letter  ad- 
dresses. 


FOUR  HIGH-PLACED  WOMEN  EXPERTS   IN  GOVERNMENT   SERVICE. 

MRS.  W.  A.  LEONARD.  MRS.  S.  F.  FITZGERALD. 

Forty-one    years    in    the    United    States  In  service  of  the  United  States  Treasury 

Treasury  and  the  fastest  money  counter  in  for  nearly  forty  years.     It  is  said  of  her  that 

the  service.    The  largest  amount  counted  by  she  knows  more  about  National  Bank  notes 

her  in  one  day  was  112,030,000.  than  any  other  person  living. 


IDENTIFYING  THE  FRAGMENTS.  251 

Here  are  pulpy  bits  of  bills  that  have  been  chewed  up 
by  pigs  and  rescued  from  a  slaughter  house ;  but  this  expert 
can  prove  to  you  that  this  pig  chewed  a  ten-dollar  bill  or  a 
five-dollar  bill,  and  possibly  she  will  be  able  to  tell  you  the 
numbers  of  the  notes.  Of  course  there  are  restrictions  upon 
the  redemption  of«fragments,  the  amount  allowed  being 
proportioned  to  the  pieces  identified  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  overpayment  practically  impossible.  The  experts 
have  a  copy  of  every  bill  which  has  ever  been  printed  by 
the  government.  These  are  used  as  models  as  soon  as 
enough  fragments  of  a  mutilated  bill  have  been  laid  out  to 
establish  its  issue.  No  bill  has  ever  been  received  at  the 
Treasury  Department  in  a  condition  which  has  made  it 
impossible  for  the  experts  to  establish  its  character  beyond 
doubt. 

Bills  that  have  been  chewed  by  mice  puzzle  the  experts 
more  than  any  other  kind  of  mutilated  money.  Each  of  the 
minute  pieces  is  carefully  laid  out  on  a  hard,  flat  surface, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  a  strong  magnifying  glass  the 
pieces  are  assembled  together  in  their  proper  relation. 

The  department  requires  that  at  least  three-fifths  of  a 
mutilated  bill  shall  be  recovered  before  the  government  will 
redeem  it.  Usually  each  mutilated  bill  is  carefully  pasted 
on  a  backing  of  paper  the  size  of  the  complete  bill.  The 
expert  has  a  piece  of  glass  the  exact  size  of  the  bill.  This 
glass  is  divided  into  forty  squares.  When  placed  over  the 
bill,  if  the  experts  can  find  that  the  remnants  fill  twenty- 
four  of  the  squares,  or  three-fifths  of  all  of  them,  the  bill 
will  be  redeemed. 

Goats  seem  to  have  a  special  liking  for  Uncle  Sam's 
money.  An  Itfwa  farmer,  while  at  work  in  his  fields, 
removed  his  vest  and  placed  it  on  a  fence,  from  whence  it 
fell  to  the  ground.  An  inquisitive  goat  chanced  to  pass 
that  way  and  nosed  six  five-dollar  bills  out  of  the  pocket. 

No  one  saw  him  eat  the  bills,  but  when  the  farmer  again 
U 


252  A  MISAPPROPRIATION  OF  TAXES. 

put  on  his  vest  he  found  the  money  had  mysteriously  disap- 
peared. The  goat  was  suspected  and  killed,  and  the  bills 
were  found  in  a  lump  in  his  stomach.  "When  received  at 
the  Treasury  Department  the  mass  had  hardened  into  a 
little  dark  brown  lump  that  resembled  anything  but  money. 
The  mass  was  soaked  until  the  minute  .particles  separated, 
and  skillful  fingers  accustomed  to  the  work,  separated  each 
piece.  In  two  hours  the  entire  six  five-dollar  bills  had  been 
pieced  together  and  were  redeemed. 

Only  recently  a  Michigan  tax  collector,  who  had  small 
faith  in  banks,  stored  $800  in  a  tin  can  for  safe  keeping  over 
night  and  hid  it  under  his  house.  One  portion  of  the  house 
was  elevated  so  that  the  family  goat  was  able  to  walk  under 
it.  The  next  morning,  just  as  the  tax  collector  started  to 
crawl  under  the  house  to  get  his  improvised  safe,  he  saw  his 
goat  slowly  emerging  and  chewing  on  the  remnants  of  a 
twenty-dollar  bill.  The  excited  collector  caught  the  goat 
and  forced  a  portion  of  the  bill  from  his  mouth.  The  col- 
lector was  a  poor  man  and  was  faced  with  the  necessity  of 
making  good  the  amount  of  funds  due  to  the  county.  He 
killed  the  goat,  secured  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  made 
the  necessary  affidavits  as  to  the  circumstances,  sent  the 
mass  of  chewed  bills  to  Washington,  and  within  ten  days 
bright,  new,  crisp  bills  for  the  entire  amount  were  sent  to 
him. 

Frequently  large  amounts  of  money  are  received  which 
keep  these  experts  busy  for  months.  The  most  noted  case 
was  that  of  a  paymaster's  trunk  that  was  sunk  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi, in  the  Robert  Carter.  After  lying  three  years  in 
the  bottom  of  the  river,  the  steamer  was  raised,  and  the 
money,  soaked,  rotten,  and  obliterated,  given  to  a  Treasury 
woman  for  identification.  She  saved  $185,000,  and  the 
Express  Company,  which  was  responsible  for  the  original 
amount,  presented  her  with  $500  in  grateful  recognition  of 
her  services.  After  the  great  Chicago  fire  large  amounts  of 


l!o 


p  ft  ,-; 
es  B*  *"  pi 

§   P   O   a   U 

te 

IIH! 


If  s  N.  3 


ss^ 

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SS'-Sf  § 

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g-psws  a 


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CHARRED  BILLS,    AND   COUNTERFEITS.  255 

charred  money  were  received  for  redemption,  and  over 
$1,000,000,  or  over  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  all  that  was  sent 
in,  was  redeemed  after  the  most  careful  and  painstaking 
work.  There  was  a  similar  experience  after  the  Boston  fire. 

Burned  money  is  very  difficult  for  government  experts 
to  work  on.  Recently  an  elderly  German  woman  living  in 
Baltimore  came  in  great  distress  to  the  department.  She 
had  the  charred  remnants  of  some  money,  which  was,  she 
claimed,  all  that  remained  of  the  savings  of  forty  years. 
She  thought  there  was  at  least  $500  in  the  original  roll. 
On  the  evening  before,  as  she  knelt  at  her  devotions,  a  lamp 
in  the  room  toppled  over  and  set  fire  to  a  dress  skirt  in 
which  she  kept  her  savings.  She  collected  as  much  of  the 
charred  money  as  she  could,  and  sympathetic  friends  sent 
her  to  the  Treasury  Department.  She  sat  in  a  room  rock- 
ing to  and  fro,  crying  and  sighing  while  half  a  dozen 
experts  worked  on  the  money.  In  three  hours  she  received 
over  $300  of  the  amount,  and  the  assurance  that  if  she  could 
secure  the  rest  of  the  debris  more  money  might  be  refunded 
to  her. 

The  women  who  take  care  of  notes  that  are  only  soiled 
and  worn  are  equally  expert  in  detecting  counterfeits,  which 
is  not  so  easily  done  in  an  old  as  in  a  new  bill.  They 
scrutinize  each  note  carefully,  and  can  generally  tell,  so 
expert  and  trained  are  they,  whether  it  is  genuine  or  coun- 
terfeit, or  whether  it  has  been  "  raised."  Treasurer  Spinner, 
who,  as  already  stated,  was  the  first  official  to  employ 
women  in  the  department,  used  to  say:  "A  man  will 
examine  a  note  systematically  and  deduce  logically,  from 
the  imperfect  engraving,  blurred  vignette  or  indistinct  sig- 
nature, that  it  is  counterfeit  and  be  wrong  four  times  out  of 
ten.  A  woman  picks  it  up,  looks  at  it  in  a  desultory  fashion 
of  her  own  and  says : 

"'That's  a  counterfeit!' 


256  AN  INGENIOUS  SWINDLER. 

" c  Because  it  is,'  she  answers  promptly,  and  she  is  right 
eleven  times  out  of  twelve." 

Yet  this  accuracy  is  hardly  to  be  credited  wholly  to 
woman's  instinct.  Founded  upon  a  subtle  perception  and  a 
sensitiveness  of  touch,  it  develops  from  experience.  Further- 
more all  women  do  not  excel  as  counterfeit  detectors ;  nor 
can  all  become  experts  as  restorers  and  counters  of  paper 
money.  But  wherever  a  woman  possesses  native  quickness, 
combined  with  power  of  concentration,  with  training  and 
experience,  she  in  time  acquires  an  absolute  skill  in  her 
work,  which,  it  has  been  proved,  it  is  impossible  for  men  to 
attain.  Her  very  fineness  of  touch,  swiftness  of  movement, 
subtle  intuition,  and  keenness  of  sight  give  her  this  advan- 
tage. 

The  temptations  to  dishonesty  are  great,  and  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  office  there  have  been  cases  of  theft  and  dis- 
honesty. The  most  famous  swindle  was  that  perpetrated 
by  a  woman  who  invented  a  method  of  making  nine  notes 
out  of  eight;  that  is,  she  would  cut  a  small  section  from 
each  of  eight  notes,  and  when  these  pieces  were  joined 
together  nine  notes  would  be  redeemed  at  face  value.  No- 
body ever  knew  how  much  she  stole  before  she  was  caught, 
but  she  gave  up  a  large  portion  of  her  ill-gotten  gains  and 
was  never  prosecuted.  She  is  the  only  woman  ever  em- 
ployed by  the  government  who  ever  tried  to  steal,  or  in  any 
way  proved  dishonest.  This  method  has  been  tried  by 
swindlers  less  expert,  but  has  never  since  succeeded.  In  a 
frame  hanging  on  the  wall  of  the  office  of  the  Treasurer 
may  be  seen  what  purports  to  be  a  five-hundred-dollar  bill, 
made  up  of  sixteen  pieces  cut  from  various  parts  of  sixteen 
genuine  bills  which  had  been  sent  in  for  redemption  aa 
"mutilated."  The  fragments  when  pieced  together  made 
up  a  seventeenth  bill,  which  might  have  been  accepted  had 
it  been  less  clumsily  fabricated. 
*  Each  counter  enters  in  a  book  having  a  blank  duplicate 


READY   FOR  ITS  DOOM.  25? 

form  for  the  purpose,  a  statement  of  the  result  of  her  count, 
containing  the  net  amount  found  to  be  due  the  owner,  the 
aggregate  of  "  shorts  "  or  "  overs "  or  counterfeits,  if  any. 
One  of  these  duplicates  is  retained  in  the  book  as  her 
voucher.  Counterfeit  bills  are  returned  to  the  Treasury  for 
reference  to  the  Secret  Service.  The  counter  then  places 
her  precious  packages  in  boxes  which  are  carried  to  the  can- 
celing-room,  and  never  for  a  moment  do  they  leave  her 
sight  so  long  as  she  is  responsible  for  them.  The  counters 
now  gather  round  a  table  in  the  canceling-room  and  receive 
receipts  for  the  amount  in  their  respective  packages,  which 
are  then  placed  under  the  canceling-machine.  Two  holes 
are  punched  in  the  top  of  the  notes  and  two  in  the  bottom. 
The  packages  then  go  to  the  cutting-machine,  where  a  huge 
blade  cuts  through  the  middle  of  each  lengthwise,  the  labels 
of  each  half  having  the  initials  of  the  counter  and  the 
amount  of  money  the  package  contained.  The  upper  half 
goes  to  the  Register's  office  and  the  lower  half  to  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  In  each  office  every 
wretched  little  half  of  a  bill  is  counted  again,  and  if  these 
final  counts  agree  with  that  of  the  count  in  the  Redemption 
Division,  the  money  is  at  last  ready  for  destruction. 

Alas !  for  our  dollar  that  went  forth  from  the  paternal 
door  —  as  many  another  child  has  done — unsullied,  only  to 
return  at  a  later  day  from  its  contact  with  the  world,  be- 
grimed, demoralized,  despoiled.  Where  is  our  pretty  dollar, 
fresh  and  pure  ?  Every  delicate  line  defaced,  tattered, 
filthy,  worn  out  —  this  wretched  little  rag,  surely,  cannot  be 
it!  And  yet  it  is.  This  is  what  the  world's  hard  hand  has 
made  our  dollar.  It  is  nearing  its  end.  It  has  been  counted 
for  the  last  time.  The  dollar  that  takes  its  place  has 
already  gone  out  into  the  world  to  go  through  very  much 
the  same  experience. 

There  is  not  much  left  of  our  poor  little  dollar,  and 
nothing  left  for  us  but  to  go  to  its  funeral.  Like  most  of 


258  THE  ALL-DEVOURING  MACERATER. 

us,  it  has  had  rather  a  hard  time  in  this  world  of  ours. 
Where  has  it  not  lived  —  from  a  palace  to  a  "a  pig's 
stomach  "  ;  and  what  has  it  not  endured  —  from  the  scarlet 
rash  to  the  small-pox  —  and  to  think  that  nothing  remains 
for  it  now  but  to  be  cut  to  pieces  and  macerated ! 

Formerly  old  bills  were  cremated  in  a  furnace  located  in 
a  small  building  on  what  is  now  the  White  Lot.  The 
"  Burning  Committee,"  bearing  the  boxes  of  doomed  dollars, 
used  to  go  to  this  fiery  furnace  daily  and  throw  into  it  their 
precious  cargo  where  it  was  supposed  to  be  consumed.  But 
the  process  was  found  to  have  dangerous  possibilities. 
Paper  in  tightly- wrapped  packages  does  not  always  burn 
well,  and  a  portion  of  a  thousand-dollar  bill  might  be  left  in 
the  ashes  or  blown  out  of  the  smoke  stack,  and  some  day 
turn  up  for  redemption  again.  Besides,  on  one  occasion 
several  notes  were  in  some  way  abstracted. 

So  the  macerater  was  devised,  and  now  the  poor  worn- 
out  dollar,  instead  of  being  burned,  is  first  cut  in  two  and 
then  soaked  until  it  is  dissolved  to  pulp.  The  macerater  is 
in  the  basement  of  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing. 
It  is  a  huge  steel  receptacle,  very  much  resembling  a  large 
boiler  to  a  steam  engine,  and  is  made  to  revolve  on  its  axes. 
Its  interior  is  partly  filled  with  water,  and  is  fitted  with 
angle  irons,  which,  as  the  boiler  revolves,  beat  and  mash  the 
contents  exceedingly  fine.  On  one  side  of  the  boiler  is  a 
round  opening  covered  by  a  massive  steel  lid  which  is 
secured  by  three  Yale  locks,  each  with  its  individual  key. 
One  is  held  by  the  Treasurer,  another  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  a  third  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Cur- 
rency. Nearly  every  day  these  three  officials  or  their 
deputies,  with  a  fourth  designated  by  the  Secretary,  who 
are  known  as  the  Destruction  Committee,  assemble  at  an 
appointed  time  in  the  room  directly  over  the  macerater,  to 
deposit  in  it  the  money  to  be  destroyed.  The  money  is 
brought  from  the  Treasury  in  the  Treasury  wagon,  under 


FINAL  RITES  AND   CEREMONIES.  261 

an  armed  guard,  and  after  being  weighed  is  deposited  on  a 
large  table,  on  one  side  of  which  is  a  huge  copper  funnel 
which,  when  let  down,  fits  into  an  opening  in  the  floor  and 
connects  with  the  inlet  to  the  macerater  beneath.  Each 
key  holder  unlocks  his  individual  lock,  the  heavy  lid  is 
lifted,  the  funnel  is  let  down  into  the  hole  in  the  floor,  the 
seals  to  the  packages  of  bills  are  broken,  and  when  all  is 
ready  the  officials,  assisted  by  one  or  two  trusted  workmen, 
push  the  huge  pile  of  money  into  the  funnel,  through  which 
it  finds  its  way  into  the  maw  of  the  insatiate  monster 
beneath.  A  brawny  colored  man  with  a  long  pole  ruth- 
lessly hastens  its  progress  into  the  open  jaws  of  the  macer- 
ater, which,  in  this  way,  chews  up  nearly  2,000,000  dollars  a 
day.  It  has  been  known  to  take  166,095,000  dollars  at  one 
gulp  —  the  largest  amount  of  paper  money  ever  destroyed 
by  Uncle  Sam  at  one  time. 

When  all  the  bills  have  been  forced  in,  the  funnel  is 
withdrawn,  the  lid  is  shut,  the  locks  are  again  turned,  the 
machinery  is  set  in  motion,  the  great  boiler  revolves,  grind- 
ing and  cutting  the  water-soaked  bills  into  an  unrecog- 
nizable mass.  Alas!  it  is  the  funeral  of  our  once  clean, 
crisp  dollar.  Worn  out,  used  up,  gone  by  —  millions  of  dol- 
lars pass  into  the  macerater,  our  dollar  with  the  rest.  At 
the  proper  time  a  valve  is  unlocked  and  a  mass  of  liquid 
pulp  flows  out  of  the  macerater  into  a  pit  below.  This 
is  now  generally  rolled  out  into  boards  for  bookbinding  pur- 
poses and  sold  at  forty  dollars  a  ton.  Thus  the  cover  of 
this  very  book  may  one  day  have  represented  a  million  dol- 
lars or  more.  Some  of  the  pulp  is  purchased  by  souvenir 
makers  who  fashion  from  it  models  of  the  Capitol,  alleged 
busts  of  famous  men,  queer-looking  animals  and  odd  toys, 
many  of  them  bearing  some  such  legend  as  this:  "Yalue 
$3,000,000." 

Thus  ends  the  story  of  our  dollar.     It  has  had  its  day. 
Pulp  it  was ;  to  pulp  it  has  returned. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OFFICIAL  "RED  TAPE"  — SOME  LITTLE  KNOWN  ACTIVITIES 

OF  UNCLE  SAM'S  HOUSEHOLD  —  WONDERFUL 

WORK  AND  ASTONISHING  FACTS. 

Official  "  Red  Tape  "  — Fraudulent  Claims  —  Guarding  Against  Errors  in 
Accounts  —  An  Incident  of  the  Civil  War  —  An  Unknown  Friend  Who 
Loaned  the  Government  a  Million  Pounds  —  Who  Was  He  ?  —  A  State 
Secret  — An  Important  Meeting  at  the  White  House  —  Signing  Ten 
Million  Dollars  Worth  of  Bonds  Against  Time  —  How  It  Was  Done  — 
600  Bookkeepers  at  Work  —  Ignorant  Country  Postmasters  —  Money 
Orders  that  Are  Never  Presented  for  Payment  —  An  Unsolved  Mystery 
—  Thousands  of  Dollars  Not  Called  For  —  How  the  Money  Rolls  into 
Uncle  Sam's  Tills  —  Smugglers  and  Their  Ways  —  A  Dangerous  Class 
of  Def rauders  —  A  Wonderful  Pair  of  Scales  —  Some  Astonishing 
Facts  About  Weights  and  Measures. 


following  the  history  of  a  dollar  from  its  birth 
to  its  destruction  we  have  seen  but  a  small  part 
of  the  numerous  activities  carried  on  by  the 
Treasury  Department.  For  every  room  we  have 
entered  there  are  dozens  of  others  just  as  interesting 
to  anyone  except  to  the  plodding  followers  of  official 
routine  who  work  within  them.  Should  we  undertake  to 
follow  a  claim  against  the  government  in  its  official  journey 
we  should  be  compelled  to  pass  from  one  room  to  another, 
from  one  division  to  another,  and  from  one  set  of  book- 
keepers and  counters  to  another.  "We  should  then  discover 
that  the  much-derided  "  red  tape  "  methods  of  the  govern- 
ment, really  provide  an  elaborate  system  of  safeguards 
against  fraudulent  claims  and  errors  in  accounts,  and  that 

(262) 


THE  GOVERNMENT  CLEARING  HOUSE.        263 

all  through  the  intricate  machinery  one  set  of  clerks  keeps 
a  check  on  another,  and  that  in  the  final  test  all  must  fit  like 
the  everlasting  cogs  in  two  cogwheels. 

How  many  different  sets  of  books  are  kept  no  one  has 
ever  taken  the  trouble  to  learn.  How  many  books  have 
been  written  full  and  are  packed  away  in  great  heaps  in 
basement  and  attic  can  only  be  guessed  at.  How  many 
files  of  claims  that  have  been  paid  and  which  have  each  been 
the  various  rounds  of  official  signing  and  countersigning, 
are  stored  away  in  this  great  clearing  house  of  the  govern- 
ment no  one  can  tell.  Every  year  the  mass  accumulates, 
and  every  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  his  report  to  Con- 
gress calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  records  are  packed 
away  in  such  a  condition  that  a  fire  may  occur  at  any  time 
and  wipe  out  millions  of  vouchers.  This  might  result  in 
numberless  claims  being  brought  against  the  government  by 
those  who,  though  well  aware  that  they  had  been  paid  once, 
would  take  advantage  of  the  destroyed  voucher  to  press  the 
claim  again. 

The  officer  immediately  in  charge  and  responsible  for  all 
the  public  moneys  is  the  Treasurer.  He  pays  the  interest  on 
public  debts,  has  charge  of  the  issue  of  notes,  and  is  the  cus- 
todian of  the  bonds  held  to  secure  the  notes  of  national 
banks.  The  Register  of  the  Treasury  signs  the  issues  of 
United  States  bonds,  enters  the  registered  bonds,  and  signs 
transfers  of  money  from  the  Treasury  to  any  depository  ;  in 
fact  one  of  his  chief  duties  is  the  signing  of  his  name. 

Once  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  "War,  when  the  Con- 
federate government  Avas  having  fitted  out  in  England  two 
privateers  like  the  Alabama,  our  .Minister  to  England  en- 
deavored to  prevent  their  departure,  and  found  that  the  only 
way  by  which  this  could  be  done  was  to  put  up  £1,000,000 
sterling  —  nearly  $5,000,000  —  as  a  bond  to  indemnify  Eng- 
land against  loss  if  the  ships  were  detained.  This  the  Min- 
ister could  not  do ;  but  just  when  he  was  in  despair,  an  Eng- 


264  A  TEST  OF   HUMAN  ENDURANCE. 

lishman  who  knew  of  the  affair  and  was  a  friend  of  the 
Union,  offered  the  Minister  the  million  pounds  on  condition 
that  his  name  should  be  kept  a  secret.  The  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, but  the  Minister  engaged  to  have  $10,000,000  of 
United  States  bonds  deposited  as  security  for  the  English- 
man and  to  have  them  in  London  by  the  next  steamer. 
There  were  no  ocean  cables  in  those  days,  and  the  letter 
from  the  Minister  did  not  reach  Washington  till  one  Friday 
night.  The  steamer  on  which  the  bonds  must  go  was  due  to 
sail  on  the  following  Monday. 

At  11  o'clock  that  Friday  night  the  Register  of  the 
Treasury  was  called  to  the  White  House,  where  he  found 
Lincoln,  Seward,  and  Chase  in  consultation.  Great  danger 
threatened  the  Union,  they  said,  if  these  vessels  should  leave 
England,  and  they  wanted  to  know  if  $10,000,000  in  bonds 
of  $1,000  each  could  be  signed  and  sent  on  next  Monday's 
steamer.  The  Register  thought  it  could  not  be  done  unless 
he  should  sign  as  long  as  he  possibly  could  and  then  resign 
so  that  the  President  could  appoint  another  Register  to  con- 
tinue the  task  without  a  break. 

But  this  plan  might  make  the  bonds  irregular  and  was 
considered  only  as  a  last  resort,  so  the  Register  set  to  work 
signing  the  bonds.  He  signed  for  seven  hours  steadily,  a 
messenger  taking  each  bond  as  quickly  as  it  was  signed  and 
leaving  a  new  bond  under  the  Register's  pen.  Saturday 
morning  his  hands  began  to  inflame,  acute  pains  set  in,  but 
still  the  work  went  on,  always  the  same  mechanical  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  movements  of  hand  and  arm  in  writing  his 
own  name.  A  physician  was  constantly  on  hand ;  prepared 
foods  were  given  and  stimulants  were  administered  at 
intervals;  but  weakness  crept  on  apace,  and  the  task  was 
proving  too  much  for  human  endurance. 

At  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  physician 
informed  the  Register  that  if  he  signed  any  more  bonds  it 
would  endanger  his  life ;  but  he  kept  on,  signing  more  and 


THE  HEAD   OF  THE  CIVIL  ARMY.  265 

more  slowly  and  laboriously.  He  could  not  remain  in  one 
position  for  any  length  of  time,  and  the  bonds  were  carried 
from  table  to  table  to  break  up  the  dreadful  monotony.  His 
fingers  and  hand  were  drawn  and  twisted.  Finally  at  noon 
on  Sunday  the  last  bond  was  signed,  the  last  hundred  taking 
longer  than  the  first  thousand.  They  were  hurried  to  New 
York  and  were  placed  on  the  steamer,  arriving  in  London  in 
due  time.  Who  that  English  benefactor  of  the  Union  was  is  a 
secret  to  this  day.  The  Register  collapsed  completely  after 
the  task  was  finished,  and  it  was  months  before  he  recovered 
from  the  strain.  The  Register  of  the  Treasury  seldom  has 
such  a  task  as  that  to  perform,  but  he  is  often  obliged  to  do 
nothing  but  sign  his  name  for  hours  and  hours  to  Uncle 
Sam's  money  and  papers. 

A  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury  is  a  superior  supervising 
officer  of  accounts,  settling  them  when  acted  upon  by  audit- 
ors. His  decision  rules  in  the  adjustment  of  accounts,  and 
is  even  binding  on  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  When  a 
Comptroller  once  told  the  President  that  no  one  could  over- 
rule him,  not  even  the  President,  the  latter  admitted  it,  but 
calmly  suggested  that  he  could  appoint  a  new  Comptroller. 
The  incident  indicates  how  complete  a  master  the  President 
is  throughout  all  the  departments.  He  is  not  compelled  to 
retain  troublesome  subordinates.  When  one  who,  by  reason 
of  the  importance  of  his  office  or  the  plenitude  of  his  powers, 
is  so  rash  as  to  disregard  the  wishes  of  the  President,  off  goes 
his  official  head,  if  the  President  thinks  best,  and  as  the  sub- 
ordinates know  this  and  have  no  great  wish  to  lose  their 
positions,  the  civil  army  is  generally  well  disciplined. 

The  office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  was  not 
established  till  1863  when  national  banks  were  created,  and 
his  duty  is  generally  to  supervise  them  and  their-  relations 
to  the  government ;  thus  he  is  not  concerned  with  the  regu- 
lar routine  of  accounts. 

There  are  six  auditors  in  the  Treasury  who  examine  and 


266  KEEPING  TABS  ON  POSTMASTERS. 

pass  upon  all  accounts.  Each  of  these  officials  has  a"  deputy, 
chiefs  of  several  divisions,  and  an  army  of  clerks.  To 
describe  the  various  operations  in  one  of  these  offices  is 
to  describe  all.  The  office  of  the  Sixth  Auditor  is  exclu- 
sively the  Auditor  of  the  Post-office  Department,  and  his 
office  is  the  largest  auditing-office  in  the  world.  His  duties 
consist  of  the  examination  and  settlement  of  all  accounts 
pertaining  to  the  nearly  80,000  post-offices  of  the  country, 
as  well  as  of  the  mail  and  transportation  service.  There  was 
a  time  when  the  Postmaster-General  kept  his  own  books, 
but  now  it  requires  an  army  of  600  people  to  keep  them. 

The  account  of  every  post-office,  from  that  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  whose  postmaster  has  a  salary  equal  to  that  of 
a  Cabinet  officer,  to  those  of  the  most  insignificant  cross- 
roads post-offices  in  the  country  paying  a  salary  of  only 
a  few  cents  a  year,  must  pass  through  the  Auditor's  office. 
Generally  the  small  accounts  are  far  more  troublesome  than 
the  large  ones.  Each  postmaster  must  render  a  statement 
of  his  transactions  every  three  months,  and  where  there 
is  a  change  of  postmasters  two  reports  must  be  sent  for  that 
quarter.  These  accounts  come  into  the  Auditor's  office  by 
the  bushel,  and  each  must  be  opened,  sorted,  and  delivered 
to  the  proper  division,  examined,  verified,  corrected  if  need 
be,  and  registered.  Every  figure  must  be  scrutinized, 
and  sometimes  they  have  to  be  scrutinized  very  closely 
to  determine  whether  they  are  figures  or  not.  Every 
account  passes  through  four  divisions  and  must  pass  at 
least  nine  sets  of  clerks  —  opening  clerks,  stamp  clerks, 
examining  clerks,  balance  clerks,  file  clerks,  etc.  "When  the 
registers  are  made  up,  they  pass  to  the  bookkeeping  divi- 
sion, where  the  whole  is  crystallized  into  something  like 
100,000  different  accounts,  kept  so  systematically  that  the 
condition  of  each  post-office  and  mail  contractor  in  the 
country  may  be  seen  at  a  glance;  and  then  the  original 
accounts  and  vouchers  are  filed  away. 


IMMENSE   MONEY  ORDER  BUSINESS.  267 

The  money  order  department  was  not  established  till 
1864  and  has  been  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  year 
after  year,  till  now  the  domestic  and  foreign  money  orders 
number  over  30,000,000  a  year  and  aggregate  in  value  over 
$200,000,000.  All  these  vouchers  — 100,000  a  day  — have 
to  be  handled  in  this  great  auditing-office.  If  you  cashed  a 
money  order  ten  years  ago  in  the  remotest  post-office  in  the 
land,  you  will  find  it  on  file  here. 

"Why  is  it  that  so  many  money  orders  are  never  paid,  and 
never  appear  in  this  great  auditing-office  for  settlement  ? 
~No  one  knows.  Among  nearly  80,000,000  people  there  must 
of  course  be  many  cases  of  suicide,  murder,  sudden  death, 
and  mysterious  disappearance,  and  if  these  unfortunates 
held  unpaid  money  orders  they  must  vanish  with  them.  If 
the  story  of  each  unpaid  money  order  could  be  told,  how 
many  tragedies  and  romances  would  be  revealed.  It  is  not 
because  these  orders  are  carelessly  lost,  for  a  duplicate  may 
be  had  upon  application,  and  thousands  of  such  are  issued 
and  paid  every  year.  But  for  some  unknown  reason  a  large 
number  of  money  orders  are  never  presented  for  payment, 
and  the  government  is  largely  the  gainer  thereby.  How 
much  this  sum  amounts  to  every  year  is  not  known  outside 
of  the  government  —  and  the  government  does  not  tell.  It 
is  supposed  to  run  into  the  hundreds  of  thousands.  There 
is  always  the  possibility  that  some  of  these  orders  may 
ultimately  turn  up.  Possibly  some  miserly  people  are  keep- 
ing them  in  their  old  stockings  rather  than  the  bills  or  the 
coin  for  which  they  stand. 

In  auditing  these  accounts  all  money  orders  are  sorted 
out  by  states  and  by  officers,  and  checked  against  the 
offices  issuing  them.  The  charge  upon  the  issued  side  of  the 
issuing  postmaster's  account,  and  the  credit  upon  the  paid 
side  of  the  paying  postmaster's  account  for  any  given  voucher 
should  agree ;  but  some  of  the  backwoods  postmasters  know 
very  little  about  bookkeeping,  and  tedious  correspondence 


268  A  NEVER-ENDING  FLOOD   OF  MONEY. 

and  labor,  and  sometimes  months  of  time,  are  wasted  before 
these  petty  accounts  of  stupid  postmasters  can  be  straight- 
ened out.  Every  new  postmaster  means  more  vexatious 
grist  for  the  auditing  mill.  At  certain  seasons  this  great 
office  of  600  workers  is  buried  under  unsettled  accounts, 
some  of  which  are  from  three  months  to  a  year  in  arrears. 

There  is  no  more  important  bureau  or  branch  office  of 
any  department  of  the  government  than  the  Sixth  Auditors 
office,  for  the  necessary  detail  of  its  enormous  business 
requires  the  highest  order  of  clerical  ability.  Men  and 
women  who  have  passed  the  highest  civil  service  examina- 
tions are  employed  here.  A  few  manual  positions  are 
filled  by  persons  who  have  not  passed  these  examinations, 
but  they  must  be  capable  and  become  experts  in  numbering, 
classifying,  and  filing  post-office  orders,  vouchers,  and  the 
innumerable  papers  that  must  be  preserved. 

Another  important  bureau  of  the  Treasury  Department 
is  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau,  the  offices  of  which  are 
in  the  Treasury  building.  Under  the  ordinary  revenue 
system,  in  which  the  tax  is  placed  mainly  on  distilled  spirits, 
beer,  tobacco,  oleomargarine,  etc.,  the  revenue  collected 
amounts  to  about  $150,000,000  a  year.  But  under  the 
emergency  of  war,  when  special  taxes  are  imposed  on  some 
industries,  and  revenue  stamps  are  required  on  official 
papers,  bonds,  checks,  medicines,  etc.,  the  money  rolls  into 
Uncle  Sam's  tills  in  a  mighty  and  ever-increasing  flood, 
until  such  taxes  are  repealed. 

The  Commissioner  of  Customs  superintends  the  collec- 
tion of  customs  duties,  the  receipts  from  which  amount  to 
over  $200,000,000  a  year.  This  bureau  also  employs  many 
special  agents  who  keep  a  watchful  eye,  not  only  upon 
government  servants  in  various  customs  districts,  but  also 
upon  that  large  class  of  people  —  many  of  them  of  the 
highest  standing  —  who  undervalue  their  importations  or 
endeavor  to  smuggle  valuables  in  their  trunks  when 


IMPORTANT  TREASURY  INDUSTRIES.         269 

K  returning  from  a  summer  vacation  in  Europe."  Constant 
vigilance  is  required  to  prevent  the  operations  of  pro- 
fessional smugglers  who  haunt  the  Mexican  and  Canadian 
borders  and  who,  with  their  confederates,  form  an  adroit 
and  dangerous  class  of  defrauders  of  the  government. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the 
government  also  provides  for  the  safety  of  navigation.  A 
Commissioner  of  Navigation  makes  it  his  business  to  keep 
informed  of  the  condition  of  the  merchant  marine  and  to 
advise  steps  for  its  development.  Marine  Hospitals  where 
sick  seamen  are  received  and  cared  for  are  managed  by  the 
Supervising  Surgeon  General,  and  a  Supervising  Inspector 
General  of  Steamboat  Service  endeavors  through  his 
agencies  to  minimize  the  loss  of  life  from  accident. 

The  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  occupies  an  old  mansion 
near  the  Capitol,  and  is  also  under  the  direction  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury.  Its  duties  are  to  make  a  survey  of 
our  entire  coast  line  for  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues  from 
shore,  and  of  all  harbors;  to  locate  all  shoals  and  other 
dangers  to  navigation,  and  to  chart  all  soundings  for  the  use 
of  navigators.  It  makes  large  maps  which  are  printed  by 
the  government  and  exhibit  the  exact  nature  of  the  entire 
coast.  The  geodetic  part  of  the  work  is  confined  to  making 
an  accurate  survey  of  land  lines  across  the  continent,  mainly 
with  a  view  of  determining  the  exact  size  and  shape  of  the 
earth. 

In  the  windowless  basement  room,  originally  built  for  a 
coal  vault,  in  the  building  occupied  by  the  Coast  Survey,  is 
mounted  the  most  delicate  pair  of  scales  in  the  United 
States,  which  cost  the  government  $1,500.  They  are  part 
of  the  equipment  of  the  Treasury  Department's  Bureau  of 
Weights  and  Measures,  which  is  attached  to  the  Coast 
Survey,  though  why  this  should  be  so  nobody  has  ever 
adequately  explained. 

So  delicate  are  these  scales  that  they  will  weigh  accu- 


270  DELICATE  AND   SENSITIVE  SCALES. 

rately  a  ten-millionth  part  of  a  gram.  They  are  so  sensitive 
that  the  warmth  given  off  by  the  body  of  a  person  approach- 
ing them  near  enough  to  open  the  glass  case  or  to  shift  the 
weights  would  expand  the  balance  arms,  and  produce  an  ap- 
preciable error  in  the  results.  Therefore  they  have  been  so 
constructed  that  they  may  be  operated  at  a  distance  of 
twenty  feet.  Three  long  brass  rods  extend  from  the  base 
of  the  case  containing  the  scales,  and  at  the  extremity  of 
each  is  a  wheel,  and  by  turning  these  wheels  the  weights 
may  be  shifted  from  one  pan  to  another,  or  any  other  neces- 
sary operations  conducted.  The  readings  are  made  through 
a  small  telescope  mounted  where  the  operator  stands.  On 
one  side  of  the  room  the  temperature  is  different  from  the 
other  side,  and  whenever  the  instrument  is  used  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  surround  it  with  large  sheets  of  asbestos 
paper.  Corrections  have  to  be  made  for  the  temperature, 
humidity,  and  density  of  the  air.  With  each  weighing  there 
must  be  a  reading  of  the  thermometer,  barometer,  and  hy- 
drometer, and  corrections  to  correspond  to  the  conditions 
existing  at  the  time. 

Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  the  difference  of  an  inch  or 
two  from  the  center  of  the  earth,  thousands  of  miles  away, 
causes  an  appreciable  variation  in  the  weight  of  the  objects. 
This  is  illustrated  by  placing  two  equal  weights  side  by  side 
in  each  pan,  when  the  beam  shows  no  variation.  But  place 
one  of  the  weights  on  top  of  the  other  in  one  pan,  leaving 
the  other  pair  side  by  side  in  the  other  pan,  and  the  balance 
will  be  disturbed.  The  weights  used  in  this  experiment  are 
scarcely  two  inches  in  height,  so  that  the  difference  in  dis- 
tance from  the  earth's  center,  considered  in  comparison  to 
the  distance  itself,  is  infinitesimal. 

The  standard  from  which  measures  of  length  and  mass 
are  derived  are  stored  in  the  same  building.  The  standard 
of  mass  is  a  cylindrical-shaped  piece  of  whitish  metal  about 
the  size  of  a  tennis  ball.  The  standard  of  length  is  a  bar  of 


STANDARDS   OF  LENGTH  AND  MASS.  271 

the  same  silver-like  metal  about  three  feet  long  and  a  little 
less  than  an  inch  square.  Each  face  is  deeply  grooved,  and 
in  one  of  the  grooves  at  each  end  is  a  polished  spot  on  which 
three  delicate  hair  lines  are  marked.  The  middle  one  of 
these  lines  determines  the  end  of  the  bar.  The  bar  is  a 
standard  meter,  and  the  cylindrical  weight  is  the  standard 
kilogramme.  The  material  from  which  they  are  made  is  a 
mixture  of  platinum  and  iridium,  the  latter  being  added  to 
give  additional  hardness  to  the  metal  which  above  all  others 
is  recognized  as  the  most  durable.  The  value  of  the  metal 
alone  in  this  standard  meter  is  $1,500,  but'  it  has  a  much 
greater  value  from  the  labor  expended  in  making  it  per- 
fectly accurate. 

The  kilogramme  and  meter  standards  are  the  result  of 
fifteen  years'  labor  by  a  joint  congress  of  scientists,  sup- 
ported by  seventeen  of  the  leading  civilized  nations.  The 
International  Metric  Convention  was  organized  in  1875,  and 
on  June  2,  1890,  the  President  of  the  United  States  broke 
the  seal  of  the  standard  kilogramme  and  meter  which  fell 
to  the  share  of  this  country,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  and  a  number  of  invited  guests, 
assembled  in  the  Cabinet  room  of  the  Executive  Mansion, 
declared  them  officially  adopted. 

These  originals  have  been  used  but  once  since.  This 
was  when  a  very  accurate  copy  was  made  from  each  for 
practical  use  by  the  government  bureau  in  regulating  the 
standard  weights  and  measures  of  the  country.  The  origi- 
nal kilogramme  was  then  placed  under  two  glass  bell  jars, 
which  were  locked  and  sealed.  No  human  hand  has  touched 
the  kilogramme  since  it  left  the  makers  in  Paris ;  what  little 
handling  has  been  necessary  has  been  done  with  a  pair  of 
special  forceps  covered  with  soft  chamois  skin.  This  is  to 
prevent  increase  of  weight  by  the  adhesion  of  minute  quan- 
tities of  foreign  substances,  or  decrease  of  weight  by  an 
abrasion.  . 

15 


272'  ODD  USES  FOR  OFFICIAL  STANDARDS. 

The  standard  meter  is  kept  in  a  case  of  wood  lined  with 
velvet,  and  protected  on  the  outside  by  a  heavy  iron  C3^1inder 
with  a  screw  cap.  It  is  removed  only  on  special  occasions. 

Although  there  has  been  no  adequate  legislation  on  the 
subject,  the  government  attempts  in  a  hap-hazard  sort  of 
way  to  supply  the  states  with  accurate  standards  of  the 
ordinary  pound,  bushel,  and  gallon  used  in  every-day  com- 
mercial transactions.  Each  state  is  supposed  to  have  a  full 
set  of  the  government  prototypes,  and  to  have  an  official 
sealer  of  weights  and  measures  with  a  corps  of  inspectors 
under  him ;  and  then  each  municipality  or  township  is  sup- 
posed to  have  its  duly-appointed  authorities  who  have  their 
working  copies  of  the  standard  measures,  and  see  that 
tradesmen  do  not  employ  false  scales  in  dealing  out  their 
wares  to  the  people. 

That  is  the  theory  of  it ;  the  way  it  works  out  in  practice 
is  very  different.  The  carefully  worked-out  standards  which 
are  furnished  by  the  government  are  usually  stored  in  cel- 
lars or  unused  vaults  and  their  very  existence  forgotten. 
In  one  of  the  Eastern  states  it  was  discovered  recently  that 
the  gold-plated  half -bushel  standard  measure  was  being  used 
to  feed  the  horse  belonging  to  the  Assistant  Chief  of  the 
Fire  Department;  the  standard  pound  weight  was  busy 
holding  a  door  open;  the  gallon  measure  found  its  sphere 
of  usefulness  as  a  cuspidor,  and  the  smaller  prototypes  all 
had  jobs  as  paper  weights.  In  another  state  the  custodian 
bored  a  hole  in  the  standard  of  liquid  measure  and  fitted  it 
with  a  spigot  in  order  to  facilitate  the  measuring  operations. 

The  advent  of  electricity  and  the  general  advancement 
of  science  has  brought  new  work  to  the  Bureau  of  Weights 
and  Measures.  It  has  also  emphasized  the  need  of  adequate 
legislation  under  the  constitutional  power  to  provide  the 
country  with  uniform  standards.  All  over  the  land  people 
are  paying  for  electric  light ;  and  yet  they  have  no  standard 
by  which  to  measure  it  or  to  gauge  the  size  of  their  bills  ex- 


NEED  OF  ACCURATE  STANDARDS.  273 

cept  the  dictum  of  the  company  which  furnishes  it.  There 
is  no  legal  standard  of  measure,  and  the  ohm,  which  is  bor- 
rowed from  Germany,  may  be  a  big  or  a  little  ohm  as  it 
suits  the  company  to  make  it.  There  is  no  standard  candle 
power,  and  there  is  no  way  for  a  customer  to  know  whether 
his  lamp  is  of  a  certain  brilliance  or  not. 

There  is  almost  no  occupation  where  the  need  of  accurate 
standards  of  some  kind  is  not  felt.  For  example,  it  is  said 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  an  accurate  clinical  ther- 
mometer. A  physician  happens  to  have  a  high  registering 
instrument,  and  all  the  patients  he  is  called  upon  to  examine 
show  an  alarming  temperature.  A  surveyor  has  an  inaccu- 
rate tape,  and  years  later  the  error  results  in  a  lawsuit  and 
great  loss.  Not  long  ago  a  discrepancy  amounting  to  $50,- 
000  between  a  bill  of  lading  and  the  goods  delivered  was 
traced  to  a  defective  hydrometer  used  to  gauge  alcoholic 
spirits. 

The  last  industry  we  shall  mention  that  comes  under  the 
fostering  care  of  the  Treasury  Department  is  the  Light 
House  Board,  of  which  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  ex- 
officio  President.  It  supervises  the  work  of  providing  suit- 
able buoys  and  lights,  the  coast  being  divided  for  this  purpose 
into  districts  with  a  naval  officer  and  army  engineer  assigned 
to  each.  Uncle  Sam  has  over  1,200  lighthouses,  each  in 
charge  of  paid  keepers ;  he  has  fifty  lightships  ever  tossed 
about  in  their  lonely  positions  on  the  restless  sea ;  he  main- 
tains nearly  2,000  post  lights,  and  over  1,000  men  to  attend 
to  them.  Besides  these  he  has  sprinkled  the  coast  with  bell 
buoys  and  whistling  buoys,  and  he  has  nearly  400  fog  horns 
operated  by  clockwork  or  by  steam. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THE    UNITED    STATES    SECRET    SERVICE  — HOW    COUNTER- 
FEITERS, DEFAULTERS,  AND  THIEVES  ARE  CAUGHT 
—  SOME  REMARKABLE  DETECTIVE  EXPERIENCES. 

A  Secret  Fund  for  Secret  Purposes  —  Uncle  Sam's  Detective  Bureau  —  Its 
Methods  and  Mysteries — Expert  Sleuth-hounds  —Eyes  That  Are  Every- 
where —  Counterfeiters  and  Their  Secret  Workshops  —  A  Skillful  and 
Dangerous  Class  of  Criminals  —  Where  They  Come  From  —  The  Mu- 
seum of  Crime  in  the  Secret  Service  Rooms  —  Some  Marvelous  Coun- 
terfeits—  Running  Down  a  "  Gang  "  — Wide-Spread  Nets  for  Coun- 
terfeiters, Defaulters,  and  Thieves  —  Catching  Old  and  Wary  Offenders 
— Ingenious  Methods — An  Adroit  Counterfeiter  and  His  Shabby 
Hand-bag  —  A  Mysterious  Bundle  —  A  Surprised  Detective  —  What 
the  Hand-bag  Contained  —  How  Great  Frauds  Are  Unearthed  —  How 
Suspicious  Persons  Are  Shadowed  —  A  Wonderful  Story  of  Detective 
Skill — Deceiving  the  Treasury  Officials — Detective  Experiences. 


YER  since  governments  were  formed,  a  secret 
service  has  played  an  important  part  in  their 
affairs,  and  it  has  been  regarded  as  a  necessity 
in  times  of  peace  as  well  as  in  times  of  war. 
General  Washington  had  such  a  service  in  the  Revo- 
lution. Even  Moses  sent  his  spies  into  the  promised 
land,  and  Joshua  "sent  out  of  Shittim  two  men  to  spy 
secretly." 

Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the  government,  Con- 
gress appropriated  $30,000  for  the  use  of  the  President  in 
maintaining  a  watch  upon  foreign  agents  and  for  similar  pur- 
poses, and  this  sum  is  now  annually  drawn  from  the  Treas- 
ury simply  upon  the  certificate  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
no  voucher  of  any  kind  being  required.  Nothing  is  known 

(274) 


BEGINNING  OF  THE   SECRET   SERVICE.  275 

outside  of  the  State  Department  of  how  this  money  is  spent, 
though  doubtless  there  are  many  thrilling  stories  in  the  long 
history  of  this  secret  fund  that  will  never  be  written.  But 
this  fund,  appropriated  for  the  sole  use  of  the  Department  of 
State,  forms  no  part  of  and  has  no  connection  with  what  is 
commonly  known  as  the  United  States  Secret  Service,  which 
by  common  misapprehension  is  supposed  to  do  all  the  detec- 
tive work  of  the  government.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Secret 
Service  is  established  and  maintained  for  the  exclusive  pur- 
pose of  following  up  and  capturing  counterfeiters,  and  it 
forms  a  division  by  itself  under  the  general  direction  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

The  present  organization  really  had  its  beginning  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Civil  War,  when  "Washington  was  a  hot- 
bed of  Confederate  spies,  through  whom  Southern  officials 
were  kept  advised  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  national 
Capital.  Indeed,  Southern  generals  were  frequently  better 
posted  on  coming  events  than  were  Northern  generals. 
Even  when  General  Butler  was  obliged  to  resort  to  the 
scheme  of  buying  a  hand  organ  and  monkey  to  get  one  of 
his  officers  who  understood  Italian  into  Washington,  the 
Southern  generals  were  in  close  touch  with  many  men  and 
more  women  who  secretly  sympathized  with  the  South,  and 
who  took  advantage  of  high  social  position  to  become  fully 
informed  of  the  plans  and  secrets  of  the  government.  The 
demand  for  Union  detectives  for  war  purposes  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  a  demand  for  men  to  enforce  honesty  in  the  collec- 
tion of  the  direct  taxation  imposed  to  raise  money  to  carry 
on  the  war ;  and  as  soon  as  the  government  began  to  issue 
its  bills  of  credit  another  demand  quickly  arose  for  men  to 
detect  and  put  a  stop  to  their  imitations  by  counterfeiters. 
The  result  was  the  establishment  of  a  large  Detective  Bureau 
as  an  annex  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary"  of  the  Treasury, 
and  its  chief,  who  ranked  as  a  colonel,  was  given  such  wide 
jurisdiction  that  his  authority  was  exercised  over  all  the  de- 


276          HOW  THE  DETECTIVE   SERVICE  IS  ORGANIZED. 

partments  of  the  government.  He  called  into  his  service  an 
army  of  men  whose  antecedents  were  not  known,  and  soon 
had  a  force  of  more  or  less  questionable  characters  which  is 
said  to  have  numbered  2,000.  The  chief  was  practically  a 
law  unto  himself,  and  among  his  subordinates  corruption 
was  rampant.  So  notorious  were  the  abuses  that  crept  into 
the  Service  that  men  who  would  never  have  thought  of  en- 
gaging in  illegitimate  enterprises  went  into  the  business  oi 
illicit  distilling,  bounty  jumping,  smuggling,  counterfeiting. 
and  other  lawless  practices. 

After  the  war  the  spirit  of  reform  gradually  changed 
the  character  of  government  detective  work,  and  laws  were 
passed  that  practically  placed  the  prevention  of  violations 
of  the  internal  revenue  laws  in  the  hands  of  the  Internal 
Revenue  authorities,  and  customs  violations  under  the  Cus- 
toms authorities,  while  the  business  of  looking  after  coun- 
terfeiters was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  through  a  division  known  ever  afterward  as  the 
United  States  Secret  Service.  By  good  management  and 
efficient  work  this  Service  gradually  developed  into  its  pres- 
ent prominence ;  and  while  its  assistance  may  be  obtained 
by  other  departments  of  the  government  at  any  time,  it  is 
organized  purely  by  virtue  of  a  law  appropriating  money 
for  the  detection  and  arrest  of  counterfeiters. 

The  $100,000  which  is  thus  annually  appropriated  for  the 
use  of  the  Secret  Service  must  be  used  exclusively  for  this 
purpose,  with  the  exception  of  $2,000  which,  by  a  recent 
enactment,  is  set  aside  for  the  investigation  of  claims  for 
"reimbursement  of  expenses  incident  to  the  last  sickness 
and  burial  of  deceased  pensioners."  While  this  duty  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Secret  Service,  it  is  such  a  small 
fraction  of  its  work  that  it  hardly  rises  to  the  dignity  of  an 
exception.  It  has  no  authority  nor  appropriation  for  the 
pursuit  of  defrauders  known  as  "  moonshiners  "  or  "  smug- 
glers." Special  agents  in  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau  are 


SPECIAL  WORK  OF  THE  SECRET   SERVICE.  27? 

employed  to  detect  and  arrest  the  first,  and  similar  agents 
in  the  Customs  Bureau  to  capture  the  second. 

Either  of  these  bureaus,  however,  may  call  upon  the 
Secret  Service  for  help  in  undertakings  that  demand  the 
highest  detective  skill,  and  for  this  the  Service  has  become 
famous.  Such  calls  are  regularly  made,  but  in  all  such 
cases  the  bureau  requesting  the  service  must  pay  the  bills. 
If  the  Secretary  of  War  wishes  a  force  of  detectives,  as  he 
did  at  the  outbreak  of  our  war  with  Spain,  he  can  call 
on  the  Chief  of  the  Secret  Service,  in  which  case  the  men 
assigned  to  the  work  must  be  paid  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment. The  Secret  Service  Bureau  makes  no  report  except 
upon  its  own  work  as  a  division  of  the  Treasury  in  detect- 
ing counterfeiters  of  notes  and  coins,  and  in  arresting 
persons  having  in  their  possession  materials  for  making 
bogus  money. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  taken  by  the  govern- 
ment  to  make  counterfeiting  both  difficult  and  dangerous,  it 
costs  Uncle  Sam  nearly  $100,000  a  year  to  maintain  a  corps 
of  sharp  detectives  to  keep  counterfeits  out  of  circulation 
and  to  keep  such  offenders  in  jail  or  under  surveillance. 
There  will  alway  be  people  ready  to  defraud  the  govern- 
ment at  every  opportunity,  and  the  temptation  to  make  and 
pass  counterfeit  money,  even  though  all  such  offenders  are 
sure  to  be  captured  sooner  or  later,  is  often  too  great  to  be 
resisted.  The  arrests  for  such  offenses  average  about  700  a 
year  and  are  made  in  every  state  of  the  Union.  Over  one- 
half  of  these  arrests  are  for  manufacturing,  dealing  in,  and 
passing  counterfeit  coins,  it  being  much  easier  to  counterfeit 
silver  coins  than  paper  money ;  for  silver  itself  is  so  cheap 
that  bogus  coins  can  be  made  nearly  of  standard  weight  and 
fineness,  and  still  yield  a  fair  profit.  If  silver  passed  more 
freely  than  it  does,  this  form  of  counterfeiting  would  be 
dangerous ;  but  fortunately  not  enough  of  such  counterfeits 
can  be  placed  in  circulation  to  make  the  business  pay. 


278  WHERE  COUNTERFEITERS    COME   FROM. 

Of  the  679  arrests  made  by  the  Secret  Service  in  one 
year,  469  were  of  this  coin-counterfeiting  class;  116  were 
for  manufacturing  and  passing  counterfeit  paper  money, 
and  fifty-one  were  for  altering  government  notes.  The  other 
offenses  were  of  such  a  nature  as  lightening  gold  coins  by 
clipping  or  drilling  them,  or  counterfeiting  foreign  securities. 
The  amount  of  counterfeit  money  captured  was  about  $75,- 
000.  Cartloads  of  plates,  dies,  moulds,  and  miscellaneous 
appliances  were  captured  and  destroyed  before  the  rogues 
had  an  opportunity  to  use  them  to  any  extent. 

Of  the  counterfeits  that  make  their  appearance  during 
the  year,  not  more  than  two  or  three  are  usually  dangerous, 
and  of  these  very  few  are  circulated  before  the  offenders 
are  caught.  The  amount  of  capital  invested  every  year  by 
counterfeiters  in  getting  ready  for  their  illegal  operations 
amounts  to  far  more  than  is  ever  made  out  of  it ;  and  yet  in 
spite  of  discouragements,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  chances 
are  one  hundred  to  one  that  such  an  enterprise  cannot  suc- 
ceed, a  new  crop  of  self -deluded  victims  is  constantly  making 
its  appearance.  They  come  from  various  walks  in  life,  from 
the  street-corner  loafer  who  forms  a  "  gang "  and  makes 
money  that  is  easily  detected,  to  the  accomplished  villain 
who  invests  large  capital,  secures  skilled  accomplices,  and 
sometimes  turns  out  notes  which  are  passed  as  genuine  after 
close  scrutiny  by  experts  of  the  Redemption  Bureau. 

The  Secret  Service  has  its  offices  in  the  Treasury  Build 
ing,  and  in  outward  appearances  they  are  very  much  like 
other  government  offices ;  though  if  we  could  look  behind 
the  polished  file  cases  we  should  find  many  a  secret  as 
curious  as  any  in  the  annals  of  crime,  and  the  records  would 
reveal  the  wide-spread  nets  that  have  here  been  woven 
about  unsuspecting  criminals.  Formerly  one  of  the  rooms 
was  given  up  to  the  exhibition  of  some  of  the  curious 
counterfeits  and  ingenious  counterfeiting  tools  that  have 
been  captured,  but  the  collection  outgrew  its  quarters  and  it 


INGENIOUS   COUNTERFEITERS  AND   IMITATORS.          279 

was  finally  thought  best  to  close  the  museum.  It  was 
believed  by  some  that  these  curiosities  of  crime  might  hava 
a  bad  effect  upon  the  minds  of  weak  individuals  who  caroa 
to  gaze  upon  them.  Still,  a  few  rare  specimens  of  th« 
counterfeiters'  art  remain  in  the  various  rooms. 

Here  may  be  seen  a  one-hundred-dollar  certificate  made 
with  a  pen  and  with  such  consummate  skill  that  it  passed 
through  the  sub-treasury.  It  looks  like  a  genuine  note,  but 
under  a  glass  it  is  a  most  obvious  counterfeit.  On  the  walls 
hang  some  oil  paintings,  one,  for  example,  of  three  barrels 
packed  to  overflowing  with  crisp  government  notes  of 
various  denominations.  Twenty-dollar  bills  fall  gracefully 
over  the  edges  of  the  barrels,  and  bills  of  much  larger 
denominations  peep  from  the  packages  sticking  up  from  the 
center.  The  figures  and  the  engraving  on  these  bills  are 
painted  in  facsimile  with  the  most  painstaking  care  by  an 
artist  who  was  a  genius  and  who  received  a  good  round 
price  for  this  product  of  his  skill ;  but  one  day  the  saloon 
keeper  who  had  the  picture  hung  in  his  gilded  drinking 
palace  beheld  it  ruthlessly  seized  by  a  man  who  turned  out 
to  be  a  Secret  Service  detective.  Protests  were  useless ;  so 
were  bribes;  for  the  law  expressly  stipulates  that  no  one 
shall  have  in  his  possession  imitations  of  United  States 
notes,  even  if  they  are  in  the  form  of  a  valuable  painting. 
.Many  such  pictures  are  seized  every  year.  Occasionally 
new  advertising  schemes  appear,  involving  the  imitation  of 
some  of  Uncle  Sam's  monied  obligations,  but  the  innocent 
perpetrators  soon  discover  that  they  are  violating  a  law 
that  cannot  be  evaded. 

The  precise  character  of  the  operations  of  the  Secret 
Service  and  the  methods  by  which  it  works  are  naturally 
concealed  from  the  public.  It  alone  knows  how  thoroughly 
it  has  honeycombed  the  country  with  agents  who  often 
follow  their  intended  victims  for  months  before  they  strike. 
While  the  service  is  divided  into  certain  districts  with  a 


280      MYSTERIOUS  METHODS   OF  THE   SECRET   SERVICE. 

head  of  the  detective  force  in  each  district,  its  men  are  con- 
stantly on  the  move.  Its  eyes  are  everywhere.  The  visitor 
is  strangely  impressed  by  the  fact  that  he  is  in  the  presence 
of  a  force  whose  operations  are  going  on  in  a  silent  manner, 
whose  ends  are  accomplished  by  patient  watching  and  wait- 
ing. The  mystery  that  pervades  these  rooms  is  in  odd  con- 
trast to  the  openness  of  all  the  other  institutions  of  this 
democratic  government.  The  detectives  of  the  force  are  as 
ignorant  as  the  public  of  the  full  workings  of  the  office,  and 
they  only  know  that  certain  specified  duties  are  theirs. 
Sometimes  they  are  entirely  ignorant  as  to  whether  other 
officers  are  detailed  in  their  district,  and  it  has  often  hap- 
pened that  one  Secret  Service  employee  has  arrested 
another,  leaving  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  ever-watchful 
chief  follows  up  his  own  men  and  that  he  takes  no  chances 
with  a  man  whom  he  does  not  thoroughly  know. 

It  is  not  easy  to  get  good  detectives  who  at  the  same 
time  can  be  thoroughly  trusted,  and  it  is  sometimes 
even  necessary  to  enlist  the  services  of  a  thief  to  catch  a 
thief,  but  the  arrest  is  generally  placed  in  better  hands. 
When  the  Service  secures  a  detective  at  once  sharp  and 
trustworthy  he  generally  becomes  one  of  the  permanent 
force,  which  is  now  sufficiently  large  to  enable  the  chief  to 
place  in  the  field  at  any  desired  place  a  corps  of  the  most 
capable  "sleuth-hounds."  The  work  requires  a  peculiar 
talent.  It  has  its  fascinations  and  its  dangers.  The  detec- 
tive must  not  only  be  keen  but  brave.  He  often  takes  his 
life  in  his  hands,  but  he  has  a  pistol  in  his  pocket. 

The  successful  manufacture  of  counterfeit  coins  or  notes 
necessarily  requires  a  combination  of  men ;  and  the  Secret 
Service  usually  assumes,  when  a  new  counterfeit  appears, 
that  there  is  a  "gang"  concerned  in  the  plot.  A  counter- 
feiting gang  is  usually  composed  of  one  or  more  persons 
who  provide  capital  for  the  purchase  of  presses  and  an 
engraver's  outfit,  and  of  an  engraver  and  a  printer,  each  of 


KEEPING  AN  EYE  ON  ROGUES.  281 

whom  must  be  a  first-class  specialist  in  his  line.  But  excep- 
tional cases  occur,  as,  for  instance,  that  of  Peter  McCarty 
and  his  wife,  who  were  arrested  a  few  years  ago  in  St. 
Louis.  McCarty  possessed  such  unusual  manual  dexterity 
that  he  was  enabled  to  carry  on  his  counterfeiting  opera- 
tions for  a  long  time  without  any  other  accomplice  than 
his  wife,  who  simply  "pushed"  or  circulated  the  notes. 
Such  cases  baffle  the  detectives  for  a  time. 

The  Chief  of  the  Secret  Service  naturally  makes  it  a 
business  to  keep  informed  of  the  antecedents  and  connec- 
tions of  men  who  have  ever  fallen  under  the  suspicion  of 
counterfeiting,  and  by  keeping  them  under  constant  sur- 
veillance he  can  very  often  locate  the  guilty  party  simply 
by  the  character  of  the  counterfeit  that  appears.  Nothing 
can  be  taken  for  granted,  however,  and  even  if  satisfied  of 
the  identity  of  the  rascals,  months  are  sometimes  spent 
in  weaving  a  web  around  them  so  as  to  catch  them  with 
sufficient  evidence  of  their  guilt.  In  a  notable  case  not  long 
ago  the  detectives  were  sure  who  the  guilty  parties  were 
long  before  they  had  any  evidence  against  them.  An  old 
offender  named  Brockway,  living  in  New  York,  was  believed 
to  be  interested  in  circulating  new  and  dangerous  counter- 
feits of  a  hundred-dollar  bill.  He  was  closely  watched,  and 
Ms  occasional  meetings  with  another  man,  whose  name 
proved  to  be  Doyle,  led  to  an  investigation  of  that  person's 
movements.  One  day  Doyle  purchased  a  ticket  for  Chi- 
cago; a  Secret  Service  man  who  was  directly  behind  him 
did  likewise.  They  were  fellow  .travelers.  Doyle  did  not 
leave  the  train  and  the  detective's  eyes  did  not  leave  Doyle, 
who  was  a  very  unconcerned  and  agreeable  traveler,  with 
no  luggage  but  a  small  shabby  hand-bag.  When  Doyle 
jumped  from  the  train  at  Chicago,  he  was  surprised  to  find 
himself  arrested  by  his  fellow  traveler,  who  in  searching  the 
I'usty  hand-bag  found  none  of  the  counterfeits  he  was  look- 
ing for,  but  to  his  great  surprise  found  instead,  wrapped  in 


282  UNEARTHING  GREAT  FRAUDS. 

an  old  shirt,  a  package  of  counterfeit  United  States  bonds 
to  the  value  of  $210,000 ! 

It  turned  out  that  Doyle  had  made  a  previous  visit  to 
Chicago,  where  he  had  floated  several  of  these  counterfeit 
bonds  successfully,  the  brokers  being  completely  decei7ed 
by  the  expert  character  of  the  engraving  and  the  agreeable 
personality  of  Doyle,  who  was  now  intending  to  float  a 
much  larger  sum  and  retire  with  his  accomplices  into  the 
safety  of  obscurity.  He  would  very  likely  have  succeeded, 
though  no  bonds  of  the  denomination  seized  had  ever  been 
issued.  It  transpired  upon  fuller  investigation  that  the 
engraver  of  this  gang  had  been  an  employee  of  a  private 
corporation  that  had  once  printed  United  States  notes  and 
bonds,  though  this  is  believed  to  be  the  only  instance  where 
advantage  was  ever  taken  of  skill  once  employed  by  the 
government.  The  plate  for  the  bonds  was  found  buried  on 
Long  Island,  and  the  whole  outfit  of  the  gang  was  captured. 

It  often  happens  that  the  agents  of  the  Secret  Service 
will,  when  in  search  of  the  perpetrators  of  one  counterfeit, 
unearth  a  greater  fraud;  and  it  also  frequently  happens 
that  the  members  of  a  gang  are  entirely  new  in  the  annals 
of  the  Service  and  are  thus  enabled  to  work  their  schemes 
without  the  disadvantage  of  having  been  under  previous 
suspicion.  Such  a  case  came  to  light  in  1899,  and  is  not 
only  one  of  the  most  remarkable  cases  in  the  records  of  the 
Service  but  well  illustrates  some  of  its  effective  methods. 
In  the  brains,  capital,  and  skill  employed  in  the  scheme,  it 
was  unique.  It  involved  men  of  high  standing  in  their  com- 
munities ;  it  involved  a  plan  for  placing  $10,000,000  of  coun- 
terfeit silver  certificates  in  circulation, —  a  plan  which  was 
absolutely  perfect  in  all  its  details  and  failed  only  because 
of  the  cupidity  of  one  of  the  engravers,  who  foolishly 
passed  a  few  of  the  bills  before  the  time  was  ripe.  It 
involved  also  an  extensive  fraud  in  internal  revenue  stamps, 
the  government  being  swindled  out  of  $150,000  before  the 


THE  FADED  CARMINE  SEAL.  283 

offenders  were  captured.  Never  had  there  been  a  swindling 
scheme  of  such  gigantic  proportions,  or  such  promise  of 
success. 

The  plans  of  the  swindlers  were  proceeding  quietly  and 
perfectly  and  without  any  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment till  early  in  1898,  when  the  Sub-Treasury  in  New 
York  called  the  attention  of  the  department  to  what  was 
suspected  to  be  a  counterfeit  of  the  "  Monroe  head "  one- 
hundred-dollar  silver  certificates.  The  engraving  was  per- 
fect. The  cashier  at  New  York  had  been  led  to  suspect  the 
notes  only  because  the  carmine  seal  seemed  to  have  a  faded 
appearance,  whereas  the  ink  made  and  used  by  the  govern- 
ment always  holds  its  color.  The  suspected  bills  were  sub- 
mitted to  experts  in  the  Redemption  Bureau  in  the  Treas- 
ury and  were  declared  to  be  genuine  ;  indeed  some  of  them 
had  been  already  redeemed.  They  had  passed  the  banks 
and  sub-treasuries  without  raising  a  suspicion,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  indicate  that  they  were  counterfeits  except 
the  possible  fading  of  the  seal.  The  Secret  Service  agents 
were  entirely  in  the  dark,  for  there  was  absolutely  no  clue 
to  the  perpetrators  of  the  crime.  To  guard  against  the  fur- 
ther circulation  of  so  dangerous  a  counterfeit  the  whole 
issue  of  these  notes,  amounting  to  about  $26,000,000,  was 
called  in  to  be  exchanged  for  bills  of  other  denominations. 
It  is  extremely  rare  that  government  experts  fail  to  detect  a 
counterfeit  at  once,  for  while  it  may  be  perfect  enough  to 
pass  the  inspection  of  casual  observers,  its  spurious  character 
will  betray  itself  to  the  trained  eyes  of  one  who  knows. 
But  here  were  bills  of  the  denomination  of  one  hundred  dol- 
lars which  even  the  skilled  experts  in  the  Treasury  had  pro- 
nounced genuine,  and  no  one  had  the  least  suspicion  where 
they  came  from  or  how  many  might  be  in  circulation. 

But  the  Secret  Service  soon  discovered  a  ray  of  light. 
By  a  painstaking  process  the  counterfeited  notes  were 
traced  to  Philadelphia,  and  a  suspicious  connection  was 


284  SPREADING  THE  NET  FOR  CONSPIRATORS. 

found  between  Taylor  &  Bredell,  a  firm  of  engravers  having 
an  extensive  plant  at  Ninth  and  Filbert  streets,  and  W.  M. 
Jacobs  &  Co.  and  W.  L.  Kendig,  extensive  cigar  manufac- 
turers of  Lancaster,  Pa.  About  the  time  that  Chief  Wilkie 
of  the  Secret  Service  had  made  this  discovery  and  had 
found  out  that  the  cigar  manufacturers  had  been  using 
counterfeit  revenue  stamps  since  1896,  and  that  the  deputy 
collector  of  internal  revenue  in  the  district  in  which  the  fac- 
tory was  situated  was  in  the  pay  of  the  counterfeiters,  the 
Collector  began  to  suspect  that  something  was  wrong,  and 
a  warrant  was  issued  for  the  arrest  of  both  Kendig  and 
Jacobs ;  but  as  this  would  have  destroyed  the  net  that  the 
Secret  Service  was  weaving  about  the  conspirators,  the 
action  was  stopped  at  Washington  through  the  representa- 
tions of  Chief  Wilkie,  and  the  whole  matter  was  placed  in 
his  hands.  He  knew  that  he  was  on  the  track  of  no  ordi- 
nary counterfeiters.  They  were  men  of  brains  and  means. 
They  w^ere  also  men  of  good  reputations.  They  had  United 
States  revenue  officers  in  their  pay.  Never  before  did  the 
Secret  Service  more  fully  realize  that  it  must  have  in  its 
employ  only  men  whom  it  could  absolutely  trust,  and  as  the 
sequel  proved  it  had  "good  men  and  true"  in  this  emer- 
gency. 

The  problem  now  was  to  catch  the  conspirators  with 
sufficient  evidence  to  lead  to  their  conviction.  Detectives 
must  shadow  them  night  and  day  without  once  arousing 
their  suspicion,  and  must  spring  like  a  tiger  when  the  time 
was  ripe.  The  business  of  the  Philadelphia  engravers  was 
carried  on  in  four  rooms,  and  the  sharp  detectives  who 
visited  the  place  "  on  business  "  noted  that  the  boy  in  charge 
of  the  front  office  never  passed  beyond  the  second  room, 
When  called,  one  of  the  proprietors  usually  came  from  the 
inner  rooms  and  only  after  some  delay.  The  outer  office 
was  locked  by  a  Yale  lock,  and  it  was  discovered  that  the 
office  boy  carried  one  of  the  keys.  In  course  of  time  and 


SKILLFUL  DETECTIVE  WORK.  287 

apparently  in  an  informal  manner,  one  of  the  detectives 
became  acquainted  and  eventually  quite  "  chummy "  with 
the  office  boy.  Meeting  him  on  the  street  one  night,  the 
detective  saluted  him  as  usual,  and  after  he  had  passed 
"  happened  to  think,"  so  he  told  the  boy,  that  a  friend  of 
his,  a  theatrical  manager,  was  looking  for  a  few  smart  boys 
to  take  part  in  an  opera.  The  boy  was  interested  at  once. 
How  much  would  they  pay  ?  The  detective  named  the  sal- 
ary, which  was  more  than  the  boy  was  then  earning,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  lad,  brimming  over  with  delight  at 
such  a  fine  chance,  agreed  to  come  to  his  friend's  hotel  that 
very  evening,  so  that  the  manager  could  look  him  over  and 
see  if  he  would  do.  At  the  appointed  time  the  boy 
promptly  appeared.  The  "  manager "  (of  the  Secret  Serv- 
ice) scrutinized  him  carefully  and  said  he  must  see  him  in 
costume,  whereupon  he  brought  out  a  gorgeous  suit  with 
flaming  red  tights.  The  boy  was  more  delighted  than  ever. 
He  was  taken  to  an  adjoining  room  where  he  quickly  slip- 
ped off  his  working  clothes  and  soon  made  his  appearance 
in  the  main  room  dressed  in  his  opera  costume.  While 
being  critically  inspected  by  the  manager,  a  detective  slip- 
ped into  the  other  room,  took  a  bunch  of  keys  from  the 
boy's  discarded  clothes,  and  slipped  down  stairs  to  a  lock- 
smith who  was  in  waiting.  A  duplicate  was  quickly  made 
and  the  bunch  of  keys  returned  to  the  old  clothes  long 
before  the  lad  had  ceased  to  admire  his  form  in  a  large 
mirror  with  which  the  room  had  been  provided.  Finally 
the  manager  thought  he  might  do,  but  he  would  give  him  a 
definite  answer  in  a  few  days  when  his  opera  plans  were 
more  complete.  Meantime  the  lad  was  to  say  nothing 
about  it,  and  with  this  injunction  he  reluctantly  resumed 
his  working  clothes  and  went  on  his  way,  happy  in  his 
newly-found  friends  and  his  bright  prospects. 

There  were  many  other  steps  yet  to  be  taken,  quite  as 
elaborate  as  this  which  -so  well  illustrates  the  methods  of  the 


288  SPRINGING  THE  TRAP. 

skilled  and  patient  detective.  Meantime  all  the  suspected 
parties  were  closely  shadowed,  and  in  one  way  or  another 
their  carefully-concealed  plans  became  known  to  the  Serv- 
ice. One  dark  night  when  the  shadowed  engravers  were 
reported  to  be  safely  at  home  and  abed,  the  pickets  of  the 
Secret  Service  were  placed  for  any  emergency  and  the 
closely-guarded  engraving  establishment  was  quietly  en- 
tered and  its  contents  carefully  noted.  A  watch  was  con- 
stantly maintained  on  all  the  suspected  parties,  and  in  due 
time  all  were  arrested  under  circumstances  which  left  them 
no  alternative  but  to  plead  guilty.  This  took  place  fourteen 
months  after  the  pursuit  began.  Not  one  escaped,  and  all 
the  plates,  paper,  etc.,  were  captured. 

In  commenting  upon  this  successful  work  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  said :  —  "  That  the  vigilance  of  the  Secret 
Service  affords  a  protection  of  the  highest  value  to  our  cur- 
rency is  a  matter  which  admits  of  no  possible  doubt.  It  is 
gratifying  to  realize  that  no  scheme,  however  formidable, 
for  counterfeiting  the  money  of  the  country  has  long  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  detection  of  officers  of  this  Service.5' 
This  high  praise  is  entirely  deserved.  It  would  be  a  good 
thing  for  every  counterfeiter  to  study  the  records  of  the 
Secret  Service  before  he  decides  to  become  rich  in  trying  to 
imitate  Uncle  Sam's  money.  There  are  ways  of  cheating 
the  government  with  impunity,  but  this  is  not  one  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT  — HOW  AN  ARMY  IS  RAISED, 

EQUIPPED,  AND  MAINTAINED —  WHERE  THE 

BONES  OF  LINCOLN'S  ASSASSINS  LIE. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  War  —  Pins  and  Tags  on  the  Chess  Board 
of  War  —  Keeping  Track  of  Our  Soldier  Boys  —  Soldiers  Made  of  Wax 

—  "Conquer    or    Die"  —  Trophies  of  War  —  Huge  Boxes    Labeled 
Like  Coffins  —  Stored  Behind    Iron-Grated    Doors  —  Curious  Relics 
From  Santiago  and  the  Philippines  —  Handsome  but  Harmless  Guns 

—  Where  and  How  the  Record  of  Every  Soldier  Is  Kept  —  Taking 
Care  of  the  Sick  and  Wounded  —  Watching  Other  Nations  —  The 
Signal  Service  —  A  Dapper  Man  in  a  Blue  Uniform  —  Watching  for 
Raw    Recruits  —  Passing    the  Surgeon's  Examination  —  A  Soldier's 
Life  —  A  Surprised  Lot  of  Red-Coats  —  Where  the  Bones  of  Lincoln's 
Assassins  Lie  —  Dishonored  Graves. 


NCE,  during  the  stirring  days  of  civil  strife,  the 
tramp  of  soldiers  and  the  rattle  of  drums  were 
familiar  sounds  in  the  every-day  life  of  the 
Capital,  and  even  now  there  are  occasional 
reminders  in  its  busy  streets  of  the  pageantry  of  war. 
The  sound  of  clattering  hoofs  may  frequently  be 
heard  in  the  distance,  and  in  a  moment  a  troop  of  Uncle 
Sam's  cavalry  sweeps  by,  off,  perhaps,  to  some  remote 
military  post  or  garrison.  From  the  headquarters  of  the 
War  Department  in  the  great  granite  building  just  west  of 
the  White  House  has  gone  out  an  order.  Every  movement 
of  the  soldiers  who  carry  our  flag  is  recorded  there.  As  we 
enter  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  we  see  hanging 
from  the  walls,  or  standing  upon  easels  close  to  his  chair, 
large  maps  into  which  at  numerous  points  pins  are  stuck 
Id  (289) 


290  MOVES  ON   THE  CHESSBOARD  OF  WAR. 

and  from  their  heads  dangle  minute  tags.  Each  tag  stands 
for  a  regiment,  tells  what  regiment  it  is,  who  is  in  command, 
and  the  date  when  last  reported.  Every  day  as  dispatches 
come  in,  pins  and  tags  are  moved  about,  and  thus  the  Secre- 
tary  knows  at  a  glance  where  and  how  his  infantry,  artil- 
lery, and  cavalry  are  located  in  our  own  or  foreign  lands. 
If  an  enemy  is  in  the  field,  he  has  tags  for  him,  and  thus  on 
these  maps  he  can  observe  the  movement  of  great  armies  on 
the  chess  board  of  war  thousands  of  miles  away. 

On  the  walls  of  the  Secretary's  office  are  portraits  of  all 
the  Secretaries  of  War  from  Henry  Knox  to  the  present, 
with  the  single  exception  of  Jefferson  Davis.  There  are 
also  notable  paintings  of  Grant,  Sherman,  and  Sheridan, 
their  frames  draped  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

Across  the  hall  are  the  offices  of  the  General  in  com- 
mand of  the  army,  while  in  the  corridors  in  large  glass 
cases,  looking  very  precise  and  solemn,  are  wax  figures  of 
soldiers,  life  size,  exhibiting  the  uniforms  of  various  ranks, 
not  only  in  the  army  of  to-day  but  in  the  army  of  the 
Kevolution  and  of  the  Civil  War.  One  represents  the  dress 
of  Washington's  Life  Guard,  a  service  formed  in  1776, 
presenting  a  brilliant  appearance  compared  with  the  more 
somber  hues  of  modern  uniforms.  The  wax  faces  of  these 
silent  figures  have  a  determined  look  well  suited  to  their 
motto,  which  was,  "  Conquer  or  die." 

By  an  act  passed  in  1814,  captured  flags  and  other 
trophies  of  war  were  given  into  the  custody  of  the  Secretary 
of  War.  The  War  of  the  Kebellion  greatly  increased  this 
number,  and  for  years  these  soiled  and  tattered  banners 
were  objects  of  great  interest.  The  number  of  captured 
Confederate  flags  was  large,  and  these  faded,  torn,  bullet- 
ridden  trophies  were  conspicuously  displayed,  and  many 
Confederate  veterans  who  had  bravely  followed  them  with 
fiercely-beating  hearts  in  the  fury  of  battle,  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  Union  Veterans  who  had  as  bravely  fought 


BATTLE  FLAGS   AND   TROPHIES.  291 

against  them,  came  to  look  upon  these  blood-stained  flags 
again  and  recall  the  grim  memories  of  other  days. 

But  as  the  ravages  of  time  began  to  tell  even  more 
severely  upon  the  flags  than  had  the  fierce  battles  in  which 
they  had  once  been  proudly  carried,  public  sentiment  de- 
creed that  they  should  no  longer  aid  in  keeping  alive 
sectional  feeling  by  being  displayed  to  the  gaze  of  the 
curious.  They  are  now  packed  in  many  huge  boxes  behind 
iron-grated  doors  in  the  sub-cellar  of  the  building,  labeled 
like  so  many  coffins.  Here  unseen,  in  the  darkness,  these 
trophies  of  the  great  Civil  War  are  folded  away,  never 
again  to  be  unfurled.  Once  in  two  or  three  years  the  boxes 
are  opened  and  the  flags  are  treated  with  ammonia,  but 
they  are  now  very  tender  and  can  be  handled  only  with  the 
greatest  care. 

Mounted  in  front  of  the  building  are  curious-looking 
cannons  and  mortars  surrendered  at  Yorktown  and  at  the 
Convention  of  Saratoga,  but  the  oldest  specimens  of  all  are, 
curiously  enough,  some  of  the  cannons  captured  in  more 
recent  years  in  the  old  fortresses  of  Santiago  Harbor  and 
at  Manila.  Some  of  these  great  copper  smooth-bore 
cannon,  most  elaborately  ornamented,  had  lain  on  the 
parapets  of  Morro  Castle  for  300  years,  and  while  they  look 
very  fierce,  they  were  almost  as  harmless  at  Morro  as  they 
are  here  with  their  enormous  mouths  open  towards  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue. 

The  duties  of  the  Secretary  of  War  were  defined  by  law 
immediately  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  Wash- 
ington selecting  his  favorite  general,  Henry  Knox,  for  the 
post,  which,  it  might  be  supposed,  the  new  government, 
established  by  virtue  of  the  hardships  and  bravery  of  the 
army  in  the  field,  would  consider  one  of  great  importance. 
But  it  is  one  of  the  anomalies  in  our  history  that  the  early 
patriots  failed  to  recognize  the  services  of  the  army,  which 
was  treated  with  great  injustice.  Men  and  officers  who  had 


292  OBJECTIONS  TO  A   STANDING  ARMY. 

given  their  time  and  property  for  the  independence  and 
welfare  of  the  nation  were  turned  out  of  service  without 
pay  or  recognition  of  any  kind. 

But  there  was  a  fictitious  fear  of  a  standing  army, 
largely  born  of  the  hatred  of  monarchical  institutions.  .  It 
was  a  fear  which  in  less  than  a  generation  nearly  brought 
the  country  to  disaster.  So  far  as  the  army  was  concerned 
in  the  War  of  1812,  there  is  little  to  relate  with  pride. 
Officers  blundered,  men  misbehaved ;  there  were  failures 
everywhere  leading  to  the  destruction  of  the  Capitol  and 
other  public  buildings  of  the  new  government,  and  thefe 
was  hardly  a  redeeming  feature  until  Jackson  with  a  com- 
mand of  volunteers  defeated  the  English  veterans  at  New 
Orleans.  After  this  war  the  dominant  party  still  hated  any- 
thing like  a  standing  army.  When  the  War  with  Mexico 
broke  out  it  numbered  but  10,000  men,  and  the  battles 
were  mainly  fought  by  volunteers  who  possessed  splendid 
fighting  qualities  because  many  of  them  were  trained  to 
frontier  life.  Hostilities  over,  the  army  was  again  reduced 
to  12,000,  and  just  before  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  it 
became  so  divided  by  sectional  interests  that  it  was  hardly 
a  factor.  By  enlisting  volunteers  the  Union  force  was  re- 
organized and  increased  to  186,000  in  1861 ;  to  637,000  in 
1862;  to  910,000  in  1863  and  finally  to  more  than  1,000,000 
in  1865.  It  required  a  year  after  this  enlistment  to  fit  these 
men  for  the  field.  When  the  Civil  War  closed  the  regular 
army  was  fixed  at  25,000,  where  it  remained  until  our  war 
with  Spain,  when  it  was  increased  to  65,000  temporarily, 
and  the  fighting  force  was  augmented  by  volunteers.  In 
February,  1901,  Congress  enacted  a  law  providing  for  a 
re-organization  of  the  army  on  modern  military  lines,  with  a 
maximum  force  of  100,000  men  and  a  minimum  of  about 
63,000. 

The  regular  army  of  to-day  can  be  put  in  motion 
equipped  ready  for  war  service  in  less  than  six  hours, 


WHERE  " RED-TAPE"  is  A  NECESSITY.  293 

through  the  administration  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and 
his  bureaus,  each  of  which  has  an  army  officer  at  its  head 
with  the  rank  of  a  brigadier-general.  Their  elegant  offices 
occupy  the  western  portion  of  the  State,  "War,  and  Navy 
Building.  These  bureaus,  which  are  often  decried  as  being 
notorious  examples  of  official  red-tape,  have  nevertheless 
been  the  growth  of  necessity  and  of  experience.  The  Adju- 
tant-General's department  is  charged  with  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  army,  the  issue  of  orders,  the  records,  and  the 
recruiting.  In  his  office  is  filed  the  exact  status  of  every 
enlisted  man  or  officer,  and  the  records  are  as  complete  for 
the  millions  of  men  enlisted  during  the  Civil  "War  as  for  the 
army  of  to-day.  To  keep  such  extensive  records  requires  a 
large  force  of  clerks,  and  the  work  is  now  done  in  the 
old  Ford's  Theater  building,  where  the  visitor  has  but  to 
give  the  name  of  any  one  who  once  fought  for  Uncle  Sam, 
and  down  comes  a  file  which  gives  the  complete  story  of  his 
service. 

The  Quartermaster-General's  department  is  charged 
with  supplying  the  army  with  clothing,  forage,  transpor- 
tation, and,  in  fact,  everything  except  what  is  eaten  by  the 
men  or  required  in  case  of  their  illness.  It  must  provide 
quarters  for  the  men,  stables  for  the  horses,  and  wagons  or 
carts  or  steamboats  for  transportation.  Were  this  depart- 
ment not  thoroughly  organized  and  efficient  in  the  highest 
degree,  the  whole  army  would  speedily  be  demoralized. 

The  Subsistence  department  is  in  charge  of  the  Commis- 
sar3^-General,  whose  duties,  while  not  so  complicated  as 
those  of  the  Quartermaster-General,  are  fully  as  important. 
"  An  army  moves  on  its  belly,"  is  a  saying  which  the  offi- 
cers of  the  army  have  had  impressed  upon  them  by  experi- 
ence in  many  a  campaign.  The  magnitude  of  the  opera- 
tions which  this  department  is  sometimes  called  upon  to  per- 
form is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  during  the  Civil  War  it 
disbursed  $362,000,000  for  supplies.  In  our  war  with  Spain 


294  MEDICAL  AND   ORDNANCE  DEPARTMENTS. 

it  was  called  upon  to  provide  an  immense  amount  of  rations 
upon  short  notice  and  in  the  height  of  the  summer  season  in 
a  tropical  climate. 

The  Medical  department  is  in  charge  of  the  Surgeon- 
General  and  must  take  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  and 
do  what  is  possible  to  prevent  unsanitary  conditions  in 
camp.  Their  duties  in  the  field  are  discharged  through  the 
Hospital  Corps,  which  consists  of  non-commissioned  officers 
or  hospital  stewards,  and  privates  recruited  from  other 
branches  of  the  service,  and  from  men  who  have  served  not 
less  than  one  year.  At  every  post  in  the  army  there  are  at 
least  one  hospital  steward  and  three  privates  who  are 
instructed  in  their  special  duties  both  theoretically  and 
practically,  and  drilled  in  the  use  of  litters  and  ambulances 
with  the  same  precision  and  attention  to  detail  that  marks 
other  military  exercises. 

The  Engineer's  office,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  army,  must  plan  and  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  all  fortifications  and  bridges,  besides  making 
maps  of  the  field  of  war.  The  Engineer  Corps  is  thoroughly 
instructed  in  sapping,  mining,  pontooning,  and  in  all  other 
details  of  engineering  for  military  purposes.  In  time  of 
peace  they  make  surveys  of  our  great  western  country,  and 
construct  many  public  works. 

The  Ordnance  department  is  in  charge  of  the  Chief  of 
Ordnance,  and  has  charge  of  all  matters  relating  to  the 
manufacture,  purchase,  and  issue  of  arms  and  munitions 
of  war.  The  arsenals  of  construction  and  storage  are 
located  at  various  convenient  points  in  the  country.  The 
Chief  of  Ordnance  has  a  staff  of  officers  at  Washington 
mainly  employed  on  construction  work,  and  has  also  an 
Ordnance  Board  of  three  members  that  has  charge  of 
experiments  at  the  government  proving-grounds  at  Sandy 
Hook,  New  York,  where  guns  of  all  kinds  are  tested.  •  At 
the  proving-grounds  the  various  inventions  presented  by 


HOW  RECRUITS  ARE  OBTAINED.  295 

civilians  from  any  part  'of.  the  country  are  tested.  The 
inventor,  usually  through  his  member  of  Congress,  ap- 
proaches the  Secretary  of  War  with  his  new  or  improved 
contrivance,  which  may  be  a  gun,  a  balloon,  a  shell,  a  fuse, 
or  anything  pertaining  to  arms  or  ammunition,  and  his 
request  is  referred  to  the  Ordnance  department.  Unless 
the  device  is  palpably  absurd  or  utterly  impractical,  the 
inventor  may  be  given  the  opportunity  of  a  test  in  presence 
of  members  of  the  Ordnance  Board. 

The  Signal  Corps  superintends  the  work  of  constructing 
and  using  field  telegraph  lines  in  times  of  war.  The  signals 
of  the  flag  —  or  "  wig-wag,"  as  the  soldiers  call  it, —  between 
different  stations,  are  made  by  representing  the  dots  and 
dashes  of  the  Morse  telegraph  alphabet ;  but  much  of  the 
military  signaling  is  made  up  of  a  cipher  code  which  not 
only  abbreviates  messages  but  conceals  their  meaning  from 
an  observing  enemy. 

Uncle  Sam  depends  upon  voluntary  recruits  for  his 
soldiers.  There  is  no  compulsory  service.  The  time  of 
service  is  only  five  years.  In  many  of  the  principal  cities  of 
the  country  will  be  found  a  United  States  recruiting  office, 
above  the  door  of  which  may  be  seen  a  small  American 
flag.  Usually  standing  in  front  of  the  office  may  be  seen  a 
dapper,  well-dressed  man  in  a  blue  uniform  with  shining 
brass  buttons,  stripes  on  his  trousers,  and  chevrons  on  a 
well-fitting  blouse.  This  is  the  recruiting  sergeant.  He  is 
ready  to  give  full  information  to  intending  recruits,  and  can 
paint  in  glowing  colors  the  glory  of  serving  in  Uncle  Sam's 
regular  army.  When  a  candidate  is  found  he  is  critically 
examined  by  an  army  surgeon,  and  if  found  physically 
sound  he  is  received  as  a  recruit,  dressed  in  the  fatigue 
uniform  of  a  soldier,  and  despatched  to  a  rendezvous  where, 
with  others,  he  is  taught  his  duty  and  drilled  to  a  fair  state 
of  soldierly  perfection.  In  time  he  is  assigned  to  a  regi- 
ment and  despatched  to  his  post.  In  time  of  war  he  may 


296     WHERE  LINCOLN'S  ASSASSINS  WERE  EXECUTED 

be  hurried  to  the  field,  where  he  has  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  and  an  equally  good  chance  of  being  killed. 
In  time  of  peace  his  life  is  by  no  means  a  hard  one.  He  is 
furnished  with  good  clothing,  good  plain  food,  means  of 
amusement,  fair  pay,  and  a  chance  for  promotion.  He  may 
even  be  improved  physically,  and  his  views  are  sure  to  be 
greatly  broadened. 

When  the  city  of  Washington  was  laid  out,  the  long 
finger  of  land  which  separates  the  Potomac  from  its  eastern 
branch  was  known  as  Turkey  Buzzard  Point.  It  contaiijed  a 
small  settlement  known  as  Carrolsville,  and  at  the  extremity 
of  the  point  was  a  slight  fortification.  Shortly  after  the 
government  moved  to  Washington  this  peninsula  was  re- 
served for  military  purposes,  and  such  it  remains  in  spite  of 
many  vicissitudes  and  incidents  of  historic  interest.  When 
the  British  captured  the  city  in  1814,  their  casualties  were 
mainly  confined  to  this  locality,  for  some  of  the  soldiers 
carelessly  dropped  a  "port-fire"  into  an  old  dry  well,  in 
which,  as  it  happened,  a  great  quantity  of  powder  had  been 
hidden,  and  the  result  was  a  remarkably  sudden  and  im- 
promptu volcano  which  blew  a  large  number  of  red-coats 
into  the  air  and  the  next  world.  The  reservation  was  con- 
tinued as  an  arsenal,  and  it  is  commonly  called  "  The 
Arsenal "  to  this  day,  though  it  is  now  only  a  military  post. 
In  1826  the  northern  portion  was  walled  off  as  a  district 
penitentiary,  and  it  was  here  that  the  conspirators  con- 
victed of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  were 
confined,  here  that  four  of  them  were  executed  and  buried. 

Efforts  have  been  made  by  lecturers  and  writers  to  sur- 
round with  great  mystery  the  exact  spot  where  the  bodies 
of  the  assassins  were  interred,  and  some  still  claim  that  their 
bones  are  moldering  in  secret  places  in  the  Arsenal  grounds. 
Although  such  stories  have  no  foundation  in  fact,  the  fiction 
is  periodically  revived.  The  body  of  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
the  assassin,  and  of  some  of  his  fellow  conspirators  were 


WHERE  THE  ASSASSINS  WERE  BURIED.  29? 

removed  years  ago  and  under  the  following  circumstances. 
Disagreements  arose  between  the  Republican  Party  and 
President  Andrew  Johnson  over  the  policy  adopted  by  the 
latter,  and  Congress,  then  Republican  by  a  large  majority, 
preferred  articles  of  impeachment  against  him  and  spent 
much  time  in  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  convict  him.  During 
these  long,  eventful  months  President  Johnson,  no  doubt  in 
a  spirit  of  reckless  resentment  toward  his  political  foes  more 
than  of  clemency  toward  the  criminals,  pardoned  a  great 
many  who  had  been  convicted  for  various  treasonable 
offenses.  His  bitter  feelings  reached  a  climax  during  the 
last  few  days  of  his  administration  when  he  astonished  the 
world  by  pardoning  Spangler  and  Arnold,  two  of  the  con- 
spirators in  the  assassination,  who  were  then  confined  on 
the  Dry  Tortugas. 

About  the  same  time  the  family  of  John  Wilkes  Booth 
obtained  an  order  from  President  Johnson  for  the  surrender 
of  the  assassin's  body  to  them.  John  T.  Ford,  owner  of 
Ford's  Theater,  where  Lincoln  was  assassinated,  who  had 
suffered  much  on  account  of  his  supposed  complicity  in  the 
assassination,  but  had  succeeded  in  vindicating  himself 
without  breaking  his  friendship  with  the  Booths,  aided 
materially  in  bringing  about  the  interview  between  the 
assassin's  brother,  Edwin  Booth,  the  distinguished  tragedian, 
and  President  Johnson,  which  resulted  in  the  President 
issuing  the  following  order : 

WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
WASHINGTON,  Feb.  15,  1869,  3  P.  M. 

To  Brigadier- General  Ramsey,  Commanding  at  Arsenal: 

The  President  directs  that  you  give  over  the  body  of  John  Wilkes 
Booth  to  the  bearer,  Mr.  John  H.  Weaver,  sexton  of  Christ's  Church, 
Baltimore,  to  be  by  him  taken  in  charge  for  proper  reinterment. 
Please  report  the  execution  of  this  order. 

(Signed.)  E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant- General. 


298 

Edwin  Booth  was  then  playing  an  engagement  in  Balti- 
more. He  had  never  visited  Washington,  nor  could  he  be 
induced  to  play  at  any  of  the  theaters  at  the  Capital  after 
his  brother's  mad  act.  On  an  appointed  day  he  came 
quietly  to  "Washington  to  carry  out  his  natural  desire  to 
recover  his  brother's  body,  and  privately  inter  it  beside  his 
kindred  in  the  burial  lot  of  the  family  in  Greenmount 
Cemetery,  Baltimore.  He  waited,  unrecognized,  in  the 
front  room  of  the  undertaking  establishment  of  Harvey 
&  Marr,  then  on  F  Street,  while  Mr.  John  II.  Weaver, 
a  Baltimore  undertaker  who  had  performed  professional 
services  for  the  Booth  family  many  times  previously,  and 
Mr.  R.  F.  Harvey,  of  the  firm  of  Harvey  &  Marr,  went 
to  the  Arsenal  with  President  Johnson's  order  for  the  body. 
Several  friends  also  went  to  the  Arsenal,  but  by  another 
route  in  order  not  to  attract  attention.  The  officer  in 
charge  obeyed  the  President's  order  promptly,  and  ordered 
a  detail  of  soldiers  to  assist  in  exhuming  and  transferring 
the  body  to  the  wagon  provided  by  Mr.  Harvey,  to  whose 
establishment  it  was  taken  through  an  alley  in  the  rear. 
Though  the  box  containing  the  body  had  been  four  years  in 
the  ground,  it  was  not  much  decayed,  and  the  lettering 
upon  it  was  easily  read.  It  was  opened  and  the  body  fully 
identified.  After  Edwin  Booth  was  thoroughly  satisfied 
that  he  had  possession  of  his  brother's  body,  it  was  placed 
in  a  plain  coffin,  still  wrapped  in  a  blanket.  The  body  was 
quietly  taken  to  Baltimore,  Edwin  returning  on  the  same 
train.  So  carefully  was  the  transfer  made,  and  so  discreet 
was  every  one  entrusted  with  the  matter,  that  even  the 
alert  newspaper  reporters  failed  to  get  a  hint  of  the  removal 
of  the  body  until  some  time  afterwards.* 


*NOTE. —  In  volume  25  of  the  Greenmount  Cemetery  records,  Balti- 
more, may  be  found  the  original  permit,  numbered  16821  and  dated 
February  18,  1869,  issued  to  J.  H.  Weaver,  undertaker,  to  inter  in  lots 
9  and  10,  Dogwood,  the  body  of  J.  W.  Booth. 


AN  INFAMOUS  BRUTE  IN  HUMAN  FORM.  299 

Some  time  after  this  President  Johnson  issued  an  order 
to  surrender  the  remains  of  Henry  Wirz,  the  brutal  and  in- 
famous keeper  of  Ande^sonville  prison,  to  his  friend  Louis 
Schade.  They  were  exhamed  from  the  ground  floor  of 
Warehouse  No.  2,  of  the  Arsenal,  and  interred  at  Mount 
Olivet  cemetery,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  3d  of 
March,  1869. 

Public  feeling  at  that  time  was  so  strong  against  every 
one  connected  with  the  assassination  of  the  beloved  Lincoln, 
that  Mr.  Johnson  was  execrated  for  these  acts,  and  had  they 
been  known  at  the  time  there  might  have  been  violent 
opposition  to  tho  execution  of  his  order  to  deliver  Booth's 
body  to  his  family.  Time  has,  however,  softened  the  bitter- 
ness and  cooled  the  passions  of  the  people,  and  to-day  there 
would  probably  be  no  opposition  to  surrendering  the  lifeless 
body  of  even  so  great  a  criminal  as  John  Wilkes  Booth 
to  those  dear  to  him  by  ties  of  nature,  after  he  had  paid  the 
penalty  of  his  crime  with  his  own  life. 

The  site  of  the  old  Arsenal  and  the  penitentiary  is 
to-day  one  of  the  prettiest  army  posts  in  the  country.  The 
green  parade  grounds  slope  down  to  the  Potomac,  the 
banks  being  fringed  with  an  avenue  of  stately  trees,  while 
on  the  extreme  point  is  the  officers'  quadrangle  and  near 
by  the  barracks,  in  which  an  artillery  regiment  is  stationed. 
Here  one  can  see  any  day,  at  the  proper  time,  a  battery 
drilling  with  the  vim  and  terrific  dash  that  characterizes 
Uncle  Sam's  soldiers,  a  ceremonious  guard  mount,  or  a 
showy  dress  parade. 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

IN  THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENT—  CARING  FOR  "  JACK "  AFLOAT 

AND  ASHORE  — THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVAL 

OBSERVATORY  — RELICS  WITH 

STRANGE  HISTORIES. 

Heroic  Deeds  Recalled  —  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  —  Disap- 
pearance of  Wooden  Warships  —  Training  Jack  for  His  New  Duties 

—  Providing  for  His  Comfort  Afloat  —  Old  Time  Man-of- Wars-Men  — 
A  Happy  Lot  of  Boys  —  How  the  "Man  Behind  the  Gun  "  Is  Edu- 
cated in  Naval  Warfare  —  Collecting  Information  for  Sailors  —  Bottle 
Papers  and  Their  use  — A  Valuable  Equatorial  Telescope  —  The  Won- 
derful Clock  by  Which  All  Other  Timepieces  Are  Set  —  The  United 
States  Navy  Yard  —  The  Naval  Museum  —  Objects  of  Great  Historic 
Interest —  "  Long  Tom  "  and  Its  Story  —  Relics  with  Strange  Histories 

—  The  Marine  Corps  —  A  Body  of  Gallant  Fighters  —  Instances  of 
Their  Bravery  —  The  Marine  Barracks  and  the  Marine  Band. 


iO  pages  of  our  history  are  so  thrilling  as  those 
which  relate  the  exploits  of  our  sailor  boys. 
Many  a  name  stands  out  in  a  glowing  halo  of 
heroism,  from  Paul  Jones  to  George  Dewey,  and 
"  Jack "  has  figured  in  numberless  thrilling  deeds, 
the  mere  mention  of  which  sets  the  blood  tingling 
through  the  veins.  We  may  neglect  the  landmarks  of  brave, 
patriotic  action,  but  the  old  timbers  of  some  of  our  fighting 
ships  of  other  days  are  carefully  and  tenderly  preserved. 
Sentiment,  a  deep,  living,  patriotic  sentiment  clusters  about 
the  old  hulks  that  have  passed  through  historic  ordeals  of 
shot  and  shell  and  are  still  afloat.  What  a  train  of  heroic 
deeds  is  recalled  by  the  old  Constitution,  built  in  1797,  and 
now  resting  quietly  in  its  honorable  old  age.  How  many 

(300) 


RECALLING  A  MEMORABLE  NAVAL  BATTLE.  301 

tongues  now  silent  have  sung  that  once  popular  song  closing 
with  the  somewhat  convivial  verse :  — 

"  Come,  fill  your  glasses  full,  and  we'll  drink  'To  Captain  Hull  1* 

And  so  merrily  we'll  push  about  the  brandy  O  ! 
John  Bull  may  toast  his  fill  !  let  the  world  say  what  it  will, 
But  the  Yankee  boy  for  fighting  is  the  dandy  0  ! " 

"Who  that  has  read  the  story  will  ever  forget  the  picture 
of  Farragut,  lashed  to  the  rigging  of  the  Hartford  as  she 
led  the  gallant  ships  that  wrought  destruction  in  Mobile 
Bay? 

"  Gun  bellows  forth  to  gun,  and  pain 

Rings  out  her  wild  delirious  scream  ! 
Redoubling  thunders  shake  the  main  ; 

Loud  crashing  falls  the  shot-rent  beam. 
The  timbers  with  the  broadsides  strain  ; 

The  slippery  decks  send  up  a  steam 
From  hot  and  living  blood,  and  high 

And  shrill  is  heard  the  death-pang  cry." 

But  however  sentimental  we  may  become  over  the  navy, 
the  administration  of  the  Navy  department  is  seldom  more 
than  a  dry,  matter-of-fact  business  proceeding.  Neither  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  nor  his  alter  ego,  the  Assistant  Secre- 
tary, is  ever  a  naval  man.  They  are  men  experienced  in 
general  affairs,  while  the  technical  part  of  the  management 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  chiefs  of  the  different  bureaus.  The 
heads  of  these  bureaus  are  naval  men  appointed  by  the 
President  from  certain  grades  and  having  the  rank  of  Com- 
modore while  acting.  They  together  form  a  sort  of  board 
or  naval  cabinet  of  experts,  and  when  their  opinions,  either 
on  technical  or  practical  matters  differ,  the  Secretary,  a  lay- 
man, decides.  The  relation  of  these  heads  to  the  Secretary 
is  more  democratic  than  the  relation  of  the  heads  of  bureaus 
in  the  War  Department  to  its  executive  head. 

By  law,  "  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  shall  execute  such 
orders  as  he  shall  receive  from  the  President  relative  to  the 
procurement  of  naval  stores  and  materials,  and  the  construe- 


302  DISAPPEARANCE   OF  WOODEN  HULLS. 

tion,  armament,  equipment  and  employment  of  vessels  ot 
war,  as  well  as  all  other  matters  connected  with  the  naval 
establishment."  In  practice,  orders  emanate  from  the  differ- 
ent bureaus  and  are  approved  by  the  Secretary,  and,  if 
necessary,  by  the  President.  The  business  of  the  depart- 
ment is  distributed  among  the  bureaus  in  such  manner  as 
the  Secretary  may  deam  expedient  and,  while  working  as  a 
whole,  the  natural  province  of  one  often  encroaches  more  or 
less  on  that  of  another. 

The  Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks  constructs  all  the  docks, 
and  yet  does  not  dock  ships ;  that  is  for  the  Construction 
Bureau.  The  Bureau  of  Navigation  publishes  all  the  orders 
of  the  Secretary,  has  the  care  of  the  Naval  Academy  and 
technical  schools,  controls  the  receiving  ships,  establishes 
codes  and  signals,  issues  orders  for  vessels  afloat  and  receives 
all  reports.  The  Bureau  of  Equipment  and  Recruiting  pro- 
vides for  the  equipment  of  ships  except  in  ordnance.  It  de- 
votes its  time  largely  to  procuring  rope  and  rigging,  galley 
and  cooking  utensils,  coal  and  anchors.  Although  called  a 
recruiting  bureau  it  does  not  recruit,  for  the  furnishing  of 
crews  is  assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Navigation.  The  ar- 
rangement is  changed  from  time  to  time  by  order  of  differ- 
ent secretaries,  and  the  chiefs  are  therefore  less  liable  to 
drop  into  ruts  than  are  army  officials. 

The  old  wooden  hulks  have  nearly  all  disappeared,  and 
with  the  change  in  ships,  has  come  a  change  in  the  life  and 
training  of  the  sailor  so  great  that  one  of  the  Jackies  of  our 
Civil  War  would  be  dumbfounded  now  at  the  manifold 
duties  required.  Everything  has  come  down  to  a  scientific 
and  mechanical  basis.  Jack  must  now  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  mechanism  of  revolving  cannon  and  the  delicate 
sight  and  breech  apparatus  of  heavy  guns  with  their 
hydraulic  mountings.  Many  of  the  men  must  be  specially 
trained  for  the  peculiar  kind  of  work  falling  to  their  share 
in  the  general  arrangement  of  modern  scientific  appliances 


WHAT  A  MODERN  WAR  SHIP  REQUIRES.  303 

necessary  to  insure  the  efficiency  of  the  ship  as  an  instru- 
ment of  warfare,  and  to  provide  for  the  comfort  and  welfare 
of  the  large  detachments  serving  upon  her. 

Our  large  battleships  each  require  crews  of  over  500  men, 
and  they  must  include  expert  electricians  to  keep  in  order 
the  various  electrical  contrivances ;  many  machinists  for  the 
complicated  engines  and  heating  apparatus,  and  even  apothe- 
caries, painters,  carpenters,  etc.  Jack,  moreover,  must  be 
well  fed  and  clothed,  and  to  the  paymaster  and  his  assistants 
falls  the  duty  of  caring  for  and  issuing  the  various  supplies. 
Clothing  and  so-called  "small  stores"  are  issued  to  him 
monthly  under  the  requisitions  of  the  officers  of  the  differ- 
ent divisions  into  which  the  ship's  company  is  divided.  He 
must  have  underwear,  shoes,  mattresses,  rain-clothes,  tobacco, 
knives,  razors  and  straps,  soap,  forks,  spoons,  plates,  and  a 
great  variety  of  articles  of  which  the  ship  must  carry  a  large 
stock  provided  under  the  arrangements  of  the  bureaus  at 
"Washington. 

But  old  Jack  is  troubled  a  good  deal  by  this  practical  spirit 
of  modern  times.  It  makes  his  quarters  far  more  comfortable, 
but  he  will  tell  you  solemnly  that  he  prefers  the  old  wooden 
ships.  Jack  likes  to  see  the  sails  set  and  the  masts  bend  un- 
der them.  He  cares  nothing  for  speed.  What  he  wants  is 
a  good  ocean  breeze  whistling  through  the  rigging.  He 
somewhat  distrusts  these  armored  ships  also.  He  used  to 
know  that  if  a  sail  or  a  yard  were  shot  away  it  could  be  re- 
stored under  fire,  and  if  a  ball  struck  the  hull  it  made  a  hole 
that  possibly  could  be  mended.  But  he  does  not  like  to 
think  of  a  hole  in  the  steel  shell  of  the  modern  battleship. 

But  the  old  sailors  are  rapidly  dropping  away,  and  Uncle 
Sam  has  taken  the  precaution  to  provide  for  the  enlistment 
and  training  of  new  ones  skilled  in  all  that  the  working  of 
modern  ships  requires.  For  this  purpose  was  established 
the  Naval  Training  Station  at  Coaster's  Harbor  Island  near 
Newport,  Khode  Island,  one  of  the  old  double-deck  frigates 


304  TRAINING  NAVAL,  APPRENTICES. 

being  remodeled  to  accommodate  about  500  apprentices. 
There  they  sleep  in  hammocks,  keep  the  ship  clean,  and 
gradually  become  accustomed  to  nautical  life.  Any  boy 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen  can  enlist,  pro- 
vided his  parents  are  willing ;  but  he  must  be  of  good  repu- 
tation, in  perfect  physical  condition,  and  able  to-  read  and 
write.  He  must  agree  to  serve  in  the  United  States  navy 
until  he  is  twenty -one  years  of  age,  and  until  that  time  is 
given  his  board,  clothing,  and  a  good  education.  His  pay 
depends  entirely  upon  his  own  exertions,  ranging  from  nine 
dollars  a  month  to  forty.  On  reaching  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  the  young  sailor  is  free  to  leave  the  navy  and  pursue 
any  vocation  he  chooses,  or  he  may  re-enlist  at  once  if  so 
inclined.  Of  course  it  is  the  design  of  the  government  to 
instruct  these  boys  and  stimulate  their  fondness  for  naval 
life  so  that  they  will  re-enlist  and  become  efficient  seamen 
on  crack  modern  war  vessels. 

There  are  three  departments  of  instruction :  seamanship, 
gunnery,  and  English.  The  boys  are  always  interested  in 
the  lessons  in  gunnery  and  soon  acquire  a  good  knowledge 
of  magazines,  projectiles,  fuses,  torpedoes,  and  so  on.  Most 
of  them  show  aptitude  in  learning  a  sailor's  duties  aboard 
ship.  They  delight  in.  being  in  the  tops,  and  become  as 
nimble  as  squirrels  in  climbing  the  rigging.  They  take 
naturally  to  boats  and  swimming ;  and  a  boy  who  has  once 
slept  in  a  hammock  with  a  rollicking  lot  of  boys  in  the  ham- 
mocks about  him  never  again  feels  quite  at  home  in  a  bed. 
Some  of  these  lads  come  from  tenement-house  districts  in 
cities,  and  from  street  gamins  they  generally  develop  into 
reliable,  energetic  men.  They  are  generally  a  happy  lot  of 
boys.  They  work  hard,  study  hard,  eat  heartily,  and  sleep 
soundly.  They  are  not  allowed  to  smoke  cigarettes,  and 
profanity  of  every  description  is  strictly  forbidden,  some- 
thing which  strikes  old  sailors  as  a  very  queer  proceeding. 
Above  all,  the  necessity  of  prompt  and  implicit  obedience 


"THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUN."  305 

to  orders  is  impressed  upon  them.  The  punishment  for  dis- 
obedience is  the  severest  that  can  be  inflicted,  for  it  is  noth- 
ing less  than  dismissal  from  the  service.  When  one  is  thus 
dismissed  the  entire  battalion  of  apprentices  is  drawn  up  in 
line  and  the  order  for  dismissal  is  read  amid  impressive 
silence,  while  the  culprit,  hanging  his  head  in  shame,  is 
marched  down  the  whole  length  of  the  line  to  the  music  of 
"  The  Kogue's  March." 

When  one  year  on  the  training  school  is  completed  the 
apprentice  is  transferred  to  a  regular  man-of-war,  where  his 
education  is  continued  until  he  becomes  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  a  modern  ship  and  its  armament.  After  re- 
enlistment  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  is  sent  to  the 
Washington  Navy  Yard,  where  he  receives  six  months' 
training  in  gunnery,  and  he  then  graduates  into  the  service 
as  a  seaman-gunner  with  better  pay.  It  is  thus  that  Uncle 
Sam  now  gets  his  "  man  behind  the  guns."  The  men  who 
astonished  the  world  with  the  precision  of  their  shooting  at 
Manila  and  Santiago  were  not  picked  up  in  a  recruiting 
office  and  expected  to  fire  a  complicated  modern  cannon  at 
once.  They  were  taken  as  boys,  educated  for  eight  or  ten 
years,  trained  in  every  branch  of  naval  warfare,  inspired 
with  a  love  of  the  flag,  and  developed  with  the  most  painsT 
taking  care. 

While  Uncle  Sam  is  producing  the  man  behind  the  gun 
at  his  apprentices'  school,  he  is  educating  young  men  to  be- 
come first-class  officers  at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy 
at  Annapolis,  which  had  its  origin,  not  in  any  specific  ap- 
propriation of  Congress,  but  in  Navy  Department  orders  in 
1845,  whereby  the  midshipmen  not  at  sea  were  assembled  at 
the  old  military  post  at  Annapolis  and  instructed.  In  1851 
the  school  became  firmly  established  with  an  appropriation, 
and  now  the  government  spares  no  reasonable  expense  to 
educate  promising  boys  for  good  service  in  the  navy,  the 
staff  of  instructors  numbering  over  seventy.  The  law  pro- 

n 


306  INSTRUCTION  THAT  NEVER  CEASES. 

vides  for  the  appointment  of  one  naval  cadet  from  each 
Congressional  district  as  vacancies  occur,  and  ten  at  large 
by  the  President.  The  embryo  officer  must  not  only  study 
the  theory  of  the  construction  of  guns  and  of  gunnery,  but 
he  must  practice  at  the  target  in  a  seaway  until  he  is  expert. 
He  must  become  expert  also  as  a  navigator.  Throughout 
his  whole  course  he  is  under  constant  instruction  in  those 
principles  which  fit  him  to  command  those  over  whom  he  is 
placed.  When  a  class  is  graduated  the  cadets  are  assigned 
in  the  order  of  their  standing  to  the  existing  vacancies  in 
the  lowest  grades  of  the  line  of  the  Navy  and  Marine  Corps 
and  Corps  of  Engineers. 

The  government  also  maintains  a  Naval  War  College 
and  a  torpedo  station  on  islands  in  Newport  Harbor,  and 
officers  of  any  grade  below  that  of  commodore  may  be  or- 
dered there  for  instruction  in  naval  tactics  and  war  prob- 
lems generally.  Ample  and  thorough  as  are  these  provisions 
for  bringing  up  young  men  to  handle  its  magnificent  fight- 
ing ships,  their  instruction  never  ceases  so  long  as  they  are 
in  the  service.  Sometimes  when  one  of  the  squadrons  is 
lying  at  anchor,  the  cadet  whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  for 
signals,  suddenly  sees  a  signal  raised  on  the  flag  ship :  "  137 
—  Get  under  way."  One  by  one  the  ships  of  the  squadron 
form  behind  the  flag  ship,  whose  signals  indicate  a  practice 
drill.  As  they  steam  away  towards  the  ocean  they  perform 
all  sorts  of  evolutions  with  a  precision  and  an  accuracy 
which  amaze  a  landsman,  but  the  commander  knows  that 
on  the  perfection  of  this  drill  depends  much  in  a  real  battle. 
His  ships  must  learn  how  to  act  on  his  signals  quickly  and 
accurately.  Thus  the  Navy  Department  has  become  a  great 
educational  institution.  The  men  must  be  brought  up  in  the 
service  and  never  cease  to  study  and  practice. 

The  Navy  Department  neglects  nothing  which  in  its 
opinion  will  provide  for  the  safety  as  well  as  the  comfort 
and  efficiency  of  the  naval  force.  Attached  to  one  of  the 


CURIOUS  FACTS,    AND    "BOTTLE  PAPERS."  307 

Bureaus  is  the  Hydrographic  office.  This  has  proved  of 
great  advantage  to  mariners  of  all  descriptions  and  all 
nationalities.  The  Hydrographic  office  takes  up  the  work 
where  the  Weather  Bureau  leaves  off,  and  for  the  benefit  of 
the  navigator  collects  regularly  and  systematically  all  infor- 
mation as  to  conditions  at  sea  and  publishes  them  in  its  pilot 
charts.  To  the  division  of  Marine  Meteorology  in  this  office 
come  regular  reports  from  more  than  3,000  vessels  of  every 
nation.  There  is  not  a  flag  afloat  from  whose  representa- 
tives records  are  not  received.  To  all  vessels,  forms  and 
envelopes  are  furnished  free  of  charge,  and  on  them  are 
recorded,  as  they  are  at  12  o'clock  each  day,  the  direc- 
tion and  the  force  of  the  winds,  the  figures  shown  by 
barometer  and  thermometer,  the  date  and  place  of  running 
into  and  leaving  fog;  the  locality  of  icebergs;  every  wreck, 
every  buoy  adrift,  and  anything  afloat  that  might  injure 
vessels. 

A  curious  system  of  studying  the  ocean  currents  is  also 
instituted  by  supplying  to  masters  of  vessels  what  are  called 
"  bottle  papers."  These  are  really  invitations  in  six  lan- 
guages to  the  masters  of  vessels  to  occasionally  fill  out  the 
blanks,  give  the  name  of  vessel,  date,  and  location,  and  then 
put  the  paper  in  a  bottle  and  cast  it  overboard.  There  are 
also  blanks  for  the  finder  to  fill,  showing  clearly  when  and 
where  the  bottle  was  picked  up.  Day  after  day  these  vari- 
ous reports  come  in  and  are  given  to  a  staff  of  workers 
called  nautical  experts,  corresponding  with  the  forecasters 
in  the  Weather  Bureau.  On  the  last  day  of  every  month 
they  issue  a  chart  on  which  is  shown  all  the  information 
received  during  the  month.  The  prevailing  winds  to  be 
expected  are  indicated,  the  various  sailing  routes  best 
adapted  to  the  coming  month  mapped  out,  and  every  float- 
ing wreck  or  large  iceberg  is  charted  where  it  was  last 
observed.  Every  month  about  4,000  of  these  charts  are 
printed  and  sent  to  branch  offices  and  to  individuals.  It  is 


308  A  WONDERFUL  TRANSMITTING  CLOCK. 

one  of  Uncle  Sam's  enterprises  which  receives  little  public 
notice,  but  it  is  highly  appreciated  by  all  sailors. 

Men-of-war  must  be  supplied  with  accurate  chronome- 
ters, compasses,  and  other  instruments,  and  these  are  tested 
at  the  Naval  Observatory,  which  is  under  the  direction  of 
the  Bureau  of  Navigation.  The  Observatory  stands  on  the 
heights  north  of  Georgetown,  and  is  supplied  with  a  valua- 
ble twenty-six-inch  equatorial  telescope  and  with  many 
forms  of  special  apparatus,  and  its  work  holds  a  high  place 
among  institutions  of  its  class.  While  its  first  official  object 
is  the  collection  of  information  for  the  use  of  mariners,  its 
experts  carry  on  purely  scientific  work  the  value  of  which 
is  widely  recognized. 

Mr.  E.  M.  Sweet  thus  describes  the  transmitting 
clock : 

"  The  transmitting  clock  at  the  Naval  Observatory  is  the  absolute 
monarch  of  American  timekeepers.  Every  day  in  the  year  except  Sun- 
day, by  one  pendulum-stroke  it  speaks  directly  and  instantaneously  to 
every  city  and  considerable  town  between  the  peaks  of  the  Rockies  and 
the  pines  of  Maine,  saying  to  them  that  on  the  seventy-fifth  meridian  it  is 
now  high  noon  to  the  fraction  of  a  second.  A  duplicate  mechanism,  sta- 
tioned at  the  Branch  Naval  Observatory  on  Mare  Island,  performs  a  simi- 
lar service  for  the  people  of  the  Pacific  slope.  And  by  this  one  clock  at 
the  National  Capital  (together  with  its  duplicate  on  the  Pacific)  is  set  nearly 
every  timepiece  in  the  United  States  and  Cuba,  most  of  those  in  Mexico, 
and  many  on  the  border  of  Canada. 

"Five  minutes  before  twelve  a  thirty-six-inch  black  globe  over  the 
State,  War,  and  Navy  Building  at  Washington  is  raised  by  a  small  rope  and 
windlass  to  the  top  of  the  flagstaff.  Here  it  remains  until  the  Observatory 
clock  pendulum  reaches  the  sixtieth  stroke  after  11:59  A.  M.,  which  stroke 
closes  an  electric  circuit  and  instantly  drops  the  ball  twenty-five  feet  to  the 
base  of  the  pole.  Time-balls  are  located  also  at  the  chief  water  ports,  pri- 
marily for  the  benefit  of  navigators. 

"  But  there  are  other  ways  in  which  this  vice-regent  of  Father  Time 
makes  known  his  decrees  to  men.  A  number  of  clocks  —  from  three  to 
three  thousand  —  in  nearly  every  city  and  large  town  are  wired  together 
into  a  local  family,  and,  by  means  of  a  switch-key  at  the  telegraph  office, 
are  put  into  direct  contact  with  the  parent  clock  at  the  National  Capital. 
So  that  the  instant  the  electric  touch  is  given  from  Washington  every  clock 


HOW  MODERN  NAVAL  GUNS  ARE  MADE.       309 

in  the  circuit  —  whether  it  be  at  Boston,  Minneapolis,  or  New  Orleans  — 
begins  a  new  day  in  perfect  accord  with  its  mechanical  deity." 

The  Washington  Navy  Yard  was  established  when  the 
government  was  moved  to  Washington,  and  for  more  than 
half  a  century  the  largest  and  best  men-of-war  owned  by 
the  United  States  were  constructed  in  its  ship  houses.  With 
the  advent  of  armored  vessels  of  greater  dimensions,  how- 
ever, conditions  were  so  changed  that,  though  two  spacious 
ship  houses  remain,  the  work  of  this  Navy  Yard  consists 
almost  entirely  of  the  manufacture  of  guns  and  ammunition 
and  the  storage  of  equipments.  In  the  gun  shop,  which  is 
filled  with  the  most  powerful  modern  machinery,  are  fin- 
ished the  immense  rifles  as  well  as  smaller  rapid-fire 
guns  used  on  modern  war  ships.  The  great  masses  of  iron 
enter  the  shop  in  the  rough,  each  consisting  of  a  central 
steel  tube,  a  steel  jacket  and  steel  hoops.  The  jacket  cylin- 
der is  bored,  the  tube  is  trimmed  down  to  fit  the  jacket 
when  heated,  and  then  the  jacket  is  trimmed  to  fit  the 
hoops,  the  work  requiring  great  nicety  of  calculation  on  the 
part  of  the  engineers.  As  the  jacket  cools  it  fits  upon  the 
tube  as  compactly  as  if  they  were  of  one  piece,  and  in  the 
same  way  the  hoops  become  a  part  of  the  jacket.  After 
this  process  the  guns,  sometimes  weighing  sixty  tons,  are 
carried  by  a  great  traveling  crane  to  a  lathe,  which  bores 
out  the  barrel  and  chamber,  and  then  to  the  rifling  lathe,  a 
ponderous  machine  which  noiselessly  and  irresistibly  cuts 
the  grooves  of  the  rifling  inch  by  inch  through  the  long 
barrel. 

The  largest  guns  made  here  are  those  of  13-inch  caliber, 
about  forty  feet  in  length  and  weighing  sixty-five  tons. 
They  carry  a  projectile  weighing  1,100  pounds  a  distance 
of  thirteen  miles.  The  Navy  Department  has  devoted  its 
best  energies  and  skill  to  the  production  of  these  immense 
rifles,  unsurpassed  by  any  guns  in  the  world,  and  also  to  the 


310  "LONG  TOM'S"  HISTORY. 

perfection  of  projectiles  which  are  manufactured  in  adjoin- 
ing shops. 

Entering  the  Naval  Museum,  which  is  shaded  by  a  wil- 
low grown  from  a  slip  taken  from  one  of  the  trees  over  the 
tomb  of  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena,  we  find  ourselves  sur- 
rounded with  quaint  forms  of  ordnance,  and  a  multitude  of 
relics  of  historic  interest.  Among  them  is  the  stern  post  of 
the  original  Rear  sage  still  containing  a  shell  received  from 
the  Alabama.  Near  the  office  of  the  commandant  of  the 
yard  are  mounted  a  large  number  of  cannons  captured  at 
various  times  by  the  navy,  many  of  which  have  curious  his- 
tories. Here  for  example  is  a  queer  specimen  known  as 
"  Long  Tom/'  a  42-pounder  cast  in  France  in  1786  and  cap- 
tured from  the  French  frigate  Noche  by  the  British  in  1798, 
and  later  sold  to  the  United  States.  Placed  on  one  of  our 
frigates  it  was  struck  by  a  shot  and  condemned,  but  was 
sold  to  Haiti,  then  at  war  with  France.  Afterwards  it 
had  various  owners,  and  in  1814  formed  the  main  reliance 
of  the  privateer  General  Armstrong,  which,  by  pluckily 
fighting  three  British  war  ships  in  the  Azores,  so  crippled 
them  that  they  were  unable  to  reach  New  Orleans  in  time 
to  help  the  land  forces  against  Jackson.  The  privateer  was 
afterwards  sunk  to  prevent  her  capture  by  the  British,  but 
the  Portuguese  authorities  at  the  Azores  so  admired  the 
little  ship's  action  that  they  presented  "  Long  Tom  "  to  the 
United  States  as  a  trophy.  So  after  its  many  vicissitudes  it 
rests  here  among  other  trophies  and  relics  with  strange  his- 
tories. 

Not  far  from  the  Navy  Yard  are  the  headquarters  of 
the  United  States  Marine  Corps,  an  organization  older  than 
the  navy.  While  the  records  of  the  army  and  navy  are 
well  known  to  every  student  of  our  country's  history,  this 
corps  which  has  done  so  much  for  the  honor  of  the  nation 
is,  strangely  enough,  seldom  mentioned.  It  has  fought  in 
all  our  wars  and  made  a  distinguished  record  for  valor 


PROUD  RECORD   OF  OUR  GALLANT  MARINES.  311 

wherever  engaged.  In  our  operations  in  China  much  was 
said  of  the  valor  of  our  army,  but  little  notice  was  taken  of 
the  gallant  defense  made  in  the  foreign  legations  by  a  body 
of  Marines  which  reached  Pekin  early,  and  practically  saved 
them  from  destruction. 

The  Marines  were  the  first  troops  to  the  front  in  the 
Mexican  War ;  the  first  in  the  Seminole  War ;  they  were 
the  only  force  available  to  put  down  the  John  Brown  insur- 
rection ;  they  stood  their  ground  as  did  no  one  else  at  Bull 
Run ;  they  were  in  the  thickest  of  the  fights  under  Dahl- 
gren,  Dupont,  and  Porter  from  1861  to  1864;  Farragut 
praised  them  in  glowing  language  for  the  action  at  Mobile 
Bay ;  they  were  the  first  to  land  in  Cuba,  and  made  an 
heroic  defense  at  Guantanamo ;  they  were  the  first  to  go 
into  action  at  Taku  in  later  troubles  in  China,  and  no  troops 
called  forth  such  hearty  praise  from  the  foreign  officials 
there.  Later  the  little  guard  of  fifty  marines  bore  almost 
alone  the  stress  and  storm  through  the  long  days  of  the 
siege  of  the  legations ;  and  yet  in  our  naval  histories  they 
are  hardly  mentioned. 

There  are  few  places  in  Washington  so  well  worth  a 
visit  as  the  Marine  Barracks  where  these  gallant  sea  soldiers 
live  when  not  on  duty  ;  and  as  the  corps  excels  in  war,  its 
band  of  musicians,  made  up  of  members  of  the  corps,  excels 
in  music.  Always  stationed  at  Washington,  the  Marine 
Band  has  become  famous  for  its  excellence  whether  in  its 
daily  concerts  at  the  Barracks,  in  front  of  the  Capitol,  at 
the  White  House,  or  at  the  President's  receptions  and  state 
dinners. 


CHAPTER  XYIIL 

A  DAY  IN  THE  POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT  —  THE  STORY  OF 

A   LETTER  — SOME  CURIOUS   FACTS  AND   INTER. 

ESTING   EXPERIENCES  —  RURAL    FREE 

DELIVERY  AND  HOW  IT  WORKS. 

The  Greatest  Business  Organization  in  the  World  —  Looking  After  80,000 
Post-Offices  —  The  Travels  of  a  Letter  — The  Making  of  a  Postage 
Stamp  —  Using  4,000,000,000  Stamps  a  Year  —  A  Key  That  Will  Un- 
lock Hundreds  of  Thousands  of  Mail  Bag  Locks  —  Keeping  Track  of 
Tens  of  Thousands  of  Mail  Bags  —  Why  They  Never  Accumulate  — 
Testing  the  Ability  of  Clerks  —  Remembering  6,000  Post-Offices  — 
"  Star  Routes  "  and  What  They  Are  —  The  Smallest  Contract  the  Gov- 
ernment Ever  Made  —  Carrying  the  Mails  for  One  Cent  a  Year  —  The 
"Axeman  "  —  Chopping  off  the  Heads  of  Postmasters  —  Free  Rural 
Delivery  —  Opposition  of  Country  Postmasters  —  Looking  for  a 
"  Choicy  "  Place  — A  Boon  to  Farmers  — How  Rural  Routes  are  Es- 
tablished —  Rural  Delivery  Wagons. 


HE  Post-Office  Department  of  the  United  States  is' 
the  greatest  business  organization  in  the  world. 
It  employs  more  men,  spends  more  money, 
brings  in  more  revenue,  handles  more  pieces, 
uses  more  agencies,  reaches  more  houses,  involves 
more  details,  and  touches  more  interests  than  any 
other  human  organization,  public  or  private,  govern- 
mental or  corporate.  Its  agents  embrace  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  government's  civil  army  of  a  half  a  million 
souls.  Every  minute  in  the  day  fifteen  thousand  messages 
are  intrusted  to  its  hands.  It  is  the  ready  and  faithful 
servitor  of  every  interest  of  society,  large  or  small,  near  or 
remote. 

(312) 


POSTAL  FACILITIES  IN  FRANKLIN'S  DAY.  313 

Yet,  at  the  beginning  of  the  government,  the  Postmas- 
ter-General was  not  regarded  as  a  person  of  very  great  im- 
portance. Washington  considered  the  office  of  too  little 
consequence  to  entitle  its  holder  to  a  place  in  his  Cabinet. 
The  books  of  Pickering,  his  Postmaster-General,  showed  an 
aggregate  in  money  transactions  of  about  $250,000  a  year, 
while  the  department  now  spends  considerably  more  than 
that  every  day.  No  other  one  thing  so  adequately  displays 
the  contrast  between  that  and  the  present  time.  Nothing 
else  shows  more  clearly  the  development  of  a  century. 

In  Colonial  days  postmasters  received  a  percentage  of 
the  receipts  of  their  offices,  and  as  they  usually  had  the 
privilege  of  the  official  frank,  many  went  into  the  business 
of  publishing  newspapers.  Benjamin  Franklin,  when  post- 
master at  Philadelphia,  found  the  office  of  great  advantage 
in  circulating  his  journal.  In  1T53  he  became  Postmaster- 
General  in  association  with  "William  Hunter  and  they  were 
together  allowed  £600  a  year,  if  they  could  make  so  much  ; 
in  1754  they  ran  £900  into  debt  in  a  praiseworthy  endeavor 
to  improve  the  service  so  u  that  answers  might  be  obtained 
to  letters  between  Philadelphia  and  Boston  in  three  weeks 
which  used  to  require  six  weeks."  Franklin  was  removed 
from  his  office  by  the  British  Ministry,  but  in  1775  the  Con- 
gress of  the  Confederation,  having  practically  assumed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  colonies,  adopted  a  postal  system  and  ap- 
pointed him  to  the  head  of  it  with  the  title  of  Postmaster- 
General,  and  a  salary  of  $1,000  a  year. 

One  of  the  treasures  of  the  Post-Office  Department  is 
the  original  ledger  of  Franklin,  embracing  all  his  accounts 
as  Postmaster-General,  of  all  the  post-offices  of  the  United 
States  for  the  years  of  1776-77-78.  These  are  all  recorded 
in  the  handwriting  of  Franklin,  and  do  not  cover  120  pages. 
The  growth  in  the  postal  service  may  be  partly  measured  by 
the  fact  that  when  the  philosopher  was  at  the  head  of  the 
Post-Office  Department,  there  were  eighty  post-offices  in  the 


314  PAYING  POSTAGE   WITH  FARM  PRODUCE. 

Confederation  ;  there  are  now  over  75,000  post-offices  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  number  .is  rapidly  increasing. 

The  department  was  organized  under  the  constitution 
and  more  firmly  established  in  1794,  but  none  of  the  Presi- 
dents till  Jackson  thought  of  inviting  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral into  the  Cabinet.  The  rates  of  postage  when  the  office 
was  organized  was  six  cents  for  one  letter  sheet  for  thirty 
miles ;  eight  cents  for  sixty  miles,  ten  cents  for  a  hundred 
miles  and  so  on  up  to  twenty-five  cents  for  distances  over 
450  miles.  Neither  stamps  nor  envelopes  were  used,  the 
paper  being  folded  and  sealed  with  wafers  or  wax,  but  if  the 
sender  paid  the  postage  the  postmaster  marked  "  Paid  "  on 
the  sheet ;  if  not,  it  was  collected  when  the  letter  was  deliv- 
ered. In  Utah  as  late  as  1870,  the  editor  has  known  of  post- 
age being  paid  with  eggs,  vegetables,  and  fruits,  the  post- 
master buying  the  produce  to  enable  the  sender  to  prepay 
the  postage.  These  rates  soon  yielded  a  surplus,  but  the 
government,  however  much  it  needed  the  money,  adopted 
the  generous  policy  of  using  all  postal  revenues  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  service  and  the  reduction  of  the  rates  of 
postage.  This  policy  has  been  maintained  from  the  begin- 
ning. It  is  a  system  which  must  not  simply  be  always  in 
the  lead  of  the  times,  but  it  must  be  administered  with  such 
efficiency  that,  while  offering  more  and  more  accommoda- 
tions, it  shall  be  less  and  less  of  a  tax. 

The  new  city  Post- Office  building  now  used  by  the  Post- 
Office  Department  on  the  south  side  of  Pennsylvania  avenue 
was  completed  and  occupied  in  1899.  The  site  cost  $650,000 
and  the  building  itself  $3,325,000.  The  interior  of  the  first 
floor  is  very  handsomely  finished  in  various  marbles  and 
massive  oak  and  mahogany  woodwork.  The  nine  upper 
floors  are  occupied  by  the  general  business  of  the  depart- 
ment. It  is  here  that  the  greatest  business  in  the  world  is 
carried  on,  and  provision  has  been  made  for  its  continued 
expansion;  for  in  a  quarter  of  a  century,  or  since  1875,  the 


KEEPING  THE  MAIL  TRAINS  MOVING.  315 

number  of  post-offices  in  the  country  has  increased  three 
fold,  the  gross  revenue  and  expenses  four-fold,  and  the  num- 
ber of  stamps  issued  seven-fold. 

Obviously  a  business  of  such  stupendous  magnitude  re- 
quires for  its  smooth  and  effective  operation  a  perfect  organ- 
ization. It  is  a  business  that  must  be  transacted  with  a  rush 
and  yet  with  the  utmost  accuracy.  The  mail  bags  must  not 
only  be  kept  open  to  the  latest  possible  minute  but  they 
must  be  delivered  at  their  destinations  within  the  shortest 
possible  time.  Interference  with  the  mails  is  disastrous. 
The  force  is  just  sufficient  to  handle  it  all  in  its  uninter- 
rupted course  and  if,  through  interference  at  any  locality, 
a,n  accumulation  of  mail  is  suddenly  thrown  upon  the  de- 
partment, it  disarranges  the  whole  service.  For  this  reason 
the  laws  against  the  interruption  of  the  mails  are  very 
severe,  and  the  government  is  occasionally  justified,  in  case 
of  a  railroad  strike,  in  using  its  armed  force  to  keep  the  mail 
trains  moving. 

The  business  is  divided  into  four  great  bureaus,  each  pre- 
sided over  by  an  Assistant  Postmaster-General.  The  First 
Assistant  Postmaster-General  has  the  practical  administra- 
tion of  the  post-offices  and  a  supervision  of  an  annual  ex- 
penditure amounting  to  about  $50,000,000.  The  Second 
Assistant  provides  for  the  transportation  of  the  mails  at  an 
annual  cost  of  about  $40,000,000.  The  Third  Assistant  is 
the  financial  overseer,  and  the  Fourth  has  charge  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  fourth-class  postmasters,  now  numbering 
over  73,000.  The  Postmaster-General  himself  has  the  direc- 
tion of  the  whole  department,  appoints  all  officers  and  em- 
ployees of  the  department  except  the  four  assistants  who  are 
appointed  by  the  President;  he  appoints  all  postmasters 
whose  compensation  does  not  exceed  $1,000  a  year.  To 
each  of  the  four  great  divisions  are  assigned  various  subdi- 
visions, the  assignment  resting  with  the  Postmaster-General. 
2,000  persons  are  employed  in  the  new  Post-Office  building. 


316  EFFICIENT  WORK  OF  WOMEN. 

As  in  the  other  departments,  many  women  are  employed, 
all  doing  their  work  promptly,  efficiently,  and  faithfully. 
Civil  Service  examinations  have  not  prevented  them  from 
obtaining  and  holding  their  clerkships,  for  when  such  exami- 
nations -are  held  the  percentage  of  women  candidates  for 
positions  or  promotions  always  exceeds  that  of  the  men. 
Miss  Sara  Carr  Upton,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  women 
in  Washington,  was  for  seventeen  years  a  clerk  and  trans- 
lator in  the  Foreign  Mails  Division,  resigning  only  because 
of  impaired  eyesight.  Mrs.  Wilcox,  born  in  the  White 
House  while  her  father,  Major  Donelson,  was  Secretary  to 
President  Jackson,  was  a  translator  in  the  Foreign  Mails 
Division  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  widow 
of  General  Pickett  has  held  a  position  in  the  Post-Office  De- 
partment most  of  the  time  since  the  battle  of  Gettysburg, 
where  her  husband  lost  his  life.  Miss  H.  H.  Webber,  a  New 
Englander,  was  for  -a  long  time  at  the  head  of  the  Eeturn- 
ing  Division  in  the  Dead-Letter  Office.  These  employees, 
through  their  intelligence,  faithfulness,  and  expertness>  won 
their  promotion  to  the  highest-salaried,  most  responsible 
positions  obtainable  by  women  clerks  in  the  department. 

Even  a  brief  explanation  of  all  the  details  of  such  a  busi- 
ness machine  would  require  a  volume.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  it  is  all  involved  in  the  successful  handling  of  every 
letter  you  drop  into  the  box.  Every  letter  on  its  travels  is 
guided  by  the  operations  of  the  various  divisions  of  this 
complex  office.  Before  the  postman  rings  your  bell  and 
delivers  in  a  stamped  envelope  a  message  from  miles  away, 
Uncle  Sam's  men  in  gray  uniforms  have  walked  many 
miles,  horses  have  galloped,  locomotives  have  puffed,  cars 
have  rolled  and  mail  bags  have  been  locked  and  unlocked 
and  tossed  about,  all  at  a  cost  of  two  cents  to  the  sender  of 
the  message  and  all  through  the  management  of  affairs  at 
Washington.  Americans  are  so  accustomed  to  having 
everything  placed  in  their  hands  that  they  accept  such 


ENGRAVING  AND  PRINTING  THE  STAMPS.  317 

benefactions  with  complacency  and  never  think  of  these 
wonderful  achievements  of  the  government.  Of  the  many 
hands  touching  our  letters,  of  the  many  watchful  eyes  that 
care  for  them,  we  know  next  to  nothing. 

First  of  all,  the  letter  must  be  stamped,  yet  it  is  a 
notable  fact  that  no  stamps  were  used  till  184Y,  and  until 
very  lately  they  were  printed  by  private  parties.  Now 
Uncle  Sam  prints  them  all  at  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and 
Printing,  which  we  have  already  visited,  but  we  shall  need 
to  return  for  a  moment  to  note  some  of  the  processes  pecu- 
liar to  manufacturing  over  4,000,000,000  of  stamps  a  year. 
The  work  of  engraving  differs  little  from  that  of  engraving 
the  plates  from  which  paper  dollars  are  printed,  but  the 
printing  is  now  largely  done  by  steam,  instead  of  by  hand- 
presses.  These  turn  out  sheets  of  400  stamps  each  at  a  rate 
of  100,000  an  hour ;  to  supply  4,000,000,000  of  stamps  a 
year  the  government  must  print  about  15,000,000  every 
working  day. 

After  being  printed,  the  sheets  must  be  dried  and  pressed 
out,  gummed,  dried  and  pressed  again,  perforated  and  cut 
apart,  trimmed,  and  carefully  counted.  In  the  early  days  of 
postage  stamps  and  for  several  years  after  they  came  into 
use,  two  serious  difficulties  presented  themselves,  the  gum- 
ming and  the  separating.  For  a  time  a  thick  mucilage 
was  used,  making  the  sheets  gurly  and  inconvenient,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  cut  the  stamps  apart  with  a  pair  of  scissors. 
Imagine  a  postmaster  of  to-day  supplying  his  customers  by 
the  scissors  method!  Fortunately  a  clever  Frenchman 
invented  the  plan  of  punching  a  series  of  small  holes  be- 
tween the  stamps,  and  his  invention  was  quickly  introduced 
into  this  country.  The  process  of  gumming  is  now  entirely 
mechanical.  Extending  sixty  feet  through  a  long  room  are 
a  series  of  wooden  boxes  heated  by  steam,  and  through  the 
boxes  pass  endless  chains.  The  sheets  are  fed  face  down- 
ward into  these  boxes  and  pass  under  a  roller  which  allows 


318       GUMMING  AND  PERFORATING  POSTAGE  STAMPS. 

just  enough  gum  to  escape  to  coat  the  sheet  thinly  and 
evenly.  It  is  then  caught  on  an  endless  chain  by  two  auto- 
matic clamps  and  carried  into  a  long,  heated  box,  and  in 
a  short  time  it  appears  at  the  other  end  perfectly  dried  and 
ready  to  be  perforated.  The  gum,  which  is  made  of  a 
dextrine  product,  is  mixed  in  vats  close  by. 

The  perforating  is  swiftly  done  by  odd  little  machines  in 
another  room.  Each  machine  is  tended  by  two  women, 
wearing  fantastic  caps  of  paper  to  shade  their  eyes  from  the 
strong  light,  as  the  sheets  must  be  fed  into  the  machines 
with  absolute  accuracy  in  order  that  the  perforations  shall 
come  in  the  right  place.  Each  sheet  has  registered  lines 
printed  in  the  margin,  and  they  must  be  adjusted  exactly 
under  a  black  thread  which  passes  over  the  feeding  table. 
A  quick  whir  of  the  wheels  puts  a  neat  line  of  pin  holes 
lengthwise  between  the  stamps  and  cuts  the  sheet  in  half  at 
the  same  time.  The  next  machine  perforates  the  sheet 
crosswise  and  again  cuts  it  in  two,  so  that  each  is  now 
divided  into  the  "regulation"  size  of  one  hundred  stamps 
each.  These  are  tied  into  packages  ready  for  delivery  to 
the  Post-Office  Department,  which  pays  the  Bureau  of  En- 
graving and  Printing  five  cents  a  thousand  for  the  stamps. 

"With  one  of  these  4,000,000,000  of  stamps  placed  on 
your  sealed  envelope,  your  letter  is  entitled  to  a  safe  journey 
whatever  its  destination.  With  the  marvelous  enterprise 
which  has  extended  the  advantages  of  the  post-office  in 
every  direction,  you  will  not  have  far  to  go  to  start  your 
letter  on  its  journey.  The  department  furnishes  to  post- 
masters all  necessary  canceling  stamps  and  inks;  it  also 
furnishes  the  twine  with  which  to  tie  up  ^the  letters  in 
assorted  bundles ;  and  the  amount  used  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that,  buying  at  wholesale  prices,  the  government 
pays  about  $100,000  a  year  for  enough  to  go  around. 

In  the  large  cities  each  post-office  is  provided  with  an 
elaborate  arrangement  of  boxes  all  labeled  so  that  mail  for 


TRAVELING   POST-OFFICES.  321 

any  place  for  miles  around  finds  its  appropriate  pigeon-hole, 
and  mail  for  each  of  the  railway  routes  is  similarly  sorted. 
The  railway  postal  service  is  the  artery  of  the  whole  sys- 
tem, and  though  it  has  been  in  operation  less  than  forty 
years  it  now  covers  over  200,000  miles.  When  the  mail  of 
the  country  became  so  great  that  the  delay  in  sorting  it 
in  city  and  town  offices  became  an  important  item  in  the 
economy  of  time,  this  system  of  traveling  post-offices  was 
devised,  and  now  Uncle  Sam  has  about  4,000  such  cars  for 
his  exclusive  use.  Usually  a  run  is  planned  to  occupy  a  day, 
and  two  sets  of  men  are  employed,  one  for  the  day  service 
and  one  for  the  night.  At  the  end  of  such  a  run  the  car 
is  taken  by  a  new  set  for  another  run  of  twenty-four  hours. 
The  "New  York  and  Chicago"  section,  for  example,  will 
be  divided  into  three  runs.  The  twenty  men  who  start  out 
from  New  York  assort  the  mail  all  the  way  to  Syracuse, 
where  a  new  set  of  twenty  takes  charge  of  it  as  far  as 
Cleveland ;  there  another  set  goes  on  with  it  to  Chicago. 

For  convenience  the  service  of  the  whole  country  is 
divided  into  divisions,  all  under  the  charge  of  a  General 
Superintendent  at  Washington,  and  each  division  has  a 
superintendent  of  its  own.  On  runs  of  average  importance 
the  whole  car  is  devoted  to  the  work.  In  one  end  is  a  space 
for  storing  the  sacks  filled  with  mail,  and  near  by  are  the 
doors,  one  each  side,  through  which  the  mails  are  received 
and  delivered.  In  the  opposite  end  of  the  car  are  the  letter 
cases,  where  all  letters  are  sorted  as  the  train  speeds  on  its 
way.  Each  car  is  furnished  with  canceling  stamps  and  ink, 
in  fact,  is  a  traveling  post-office.  The  mail  between  New 
York  and  Chicago  has  become  so  great  that  a  train  of  five 
cars  devoted  exclusively  to  the  service  is  run  daily,  the  first 
car  being  used  for  letters  and  the  other  four  for  news- 
papers. 

A  helper  in  each  car  locks  and  unlocks  all  pouches  and 
takes  on  and  puts  off  mail  at  all  stations.  This  must  be 


322  CARING   FOR  MAIL  LOCKS  AND  MAIL  BAGS. 

done  without  the  stopping  of  the  train.  While  passengers 
cannot  get  on  and  off  without  having  the  train  stopped,  the 
mail  must,  even  if  the  train  is  running  sixty  miles  an  hour, 
and  for  this  purpose  was  devised  the  ingenious  iron  arm, 
called  a  crane,  which  swings  outward  and,  while  the  train  is 
at  full  speed,  catches  and  brings  in  a  pouch,  sometimes 
landing  it  in  the  car  with  a  crash.  The  department  receives 
some  $3,000  each  year  in  loose  coins  shaken  out  of  weak 
envelopes  in  this  way. 

Every  mail  lock  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  every  other 
one  of  the  many  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  the  key  in  any 
post-office,  whether  it  be  the  smallest  cross-road  settlement 
or  the  great  office  of  New  York,  will  lock  and  unlock  every 
one  of  them.  Every  key  is  numbered,  and  a  record  of  every 
one  is  kept  in  the  department  and  its  whereabouts  can  be 
told  at  any  time.  Once  in  five  or  six  years  all  the  locks  are 
changed  as  a  measure  of  safety,  and  new  ones  of  a  different 
pattern  are  sent  out  and  the  old  ones  called  in. 

How  does  it  happen,  you  may  ask,  that  every  post-office 
has  always  a  supply  of  bags  ?  It  would  not  happen  unless 
the  government  provided  a  system  by  which  the  distribu- 
tion according  to  needs  is  always  guaranteed,  for  the  great 
trend  of  mail  matter  is  always  from  the  east  to  the  west, 
and  unless  something  were  done  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  bags  would  accumulate  in  western  offices,  while  the  east- 
ern supply  would  be  exhausted.  So  at  all  great  commercial 
and  railway  centers  there  are  provided  collecting  offices  to 
which  all  surplus  bags  are  constantly  being  sent,  and  from 
which  they  are  transported  east.  At  each  of  these  larger 
centers  also/  is  a  repairing  factory,  in  which  women  with 
specially-constructed  sewing  machines  are  constantly  mend- 
ing the  rents,  and  skilled  workmen  are  repairing  the  leather- 
work  or  the  locks.  Washington  is  the  great  headquarters 
for  bags,  and  the  proper  official  here  must  keep  an  accurate 
account  of  the  distribution  all  over  the  country. 


WHAT   A  POSTAL  CLERK  MUST   KNOW.  323 

On  any  mail  car  the  letters  for  large  cities  are  quickly 
disposed  of;  those  for  the  different  states  and  territories 
are  made  up  into  packages  to  be  sent  on  their  respective 
ways  to  be  more  •  fully  sorted  before  reaching  their 
destination.  The  run  of  every  postal  clerk  connects  always 
with  the  runs  of  others,  and  he  must  have  in  his  mind  the 
location  of  every  one  of  the  hundreds  of  post-offices  in  all 
this  great  area  and  know  just  which  way  to  send  a  letter  so 
that  it  will  reach  its  destination  in  the  shortest  possible 
time.  This  would  be  no  small  task  if  it  could  be  learned  all 
at  once,  but  time  tables,  stage  routes,  and  post-offices  are 
always  changing,  and  he  must  keep  up  with  all  changes. 
Every  postal  clerk  must  have  clearly  in  his  mind  all  the 
way  from  2,000  to  6,000  offices  and  routes.  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  division  in  which  a  railway  post-office  is 
situated  must  keep  fully  informed  of  all  the  offices,  and  he 
instructs  his  men  about  them  and  sees  that  they  properly 
perform  their  duties.  Twice  a  week  generally  he  issues  a 
printed  bulletin  of  several  pages  giving  information  of 
changes  that  have  been  made  and  fresh  instructions  for 
work  emanating  from  Washington,  which  much  resembles 
a  Chinese  puzzle. 

Once  in  three  or  four  months  every  clerk  is  examined 
by  the  superintendent  or  someone  authorized  by  the  depart- 
ment, to  learn  how  well  he  has  mastered  his  duties  in 
keeping  pace  with  ever-changing  conditions.  These  exam- 
inations are  made  by  States,  and  the  examiner  has  a  case  of 
pigeon-holes  labeled  like  the  cars  in  that  division.  The 
clerk  is  given  a  package  of  cards  each  having  the  name 
of  some  one  of  the  offices,  and  the  examiner  stands  by 
observing  his  work  and  noting  how  many  errors  are  made. 
A  written  report  of  every  examination  is  made  out,  giving 
the  percentage  of  each  clerk  and  the  time  he  occupied 
in  the  sorting,  and  this  is  forwarded  to  Washington,  so  that 

the  department  knows  always  the  relative  efficiency  of  all 
18 


324  KEEPING  AN  EYE   ON   POSTAL  CLERKS. 

its  clerks.  A  good  clerk  will  throw  into  bags  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  papers  a  minute,  and  a  letter  clerk  will  sort  from 
thirty  to  forty  letters  in  the  same  time,  the  difference  being 
due  to  the  fact  that  letters  come  in  "  face-up,"  while  papers 
are  dumped  promiscuously  from  a  bag. 

All  letters  going  to  any  office  or  any  division  of  the 
railway  service  are  tied  in  a  bundle  on  the  face  of  which 
is  plainly  printed  the  destination  of  the  package.  Every 
postal  clerk  using  one  of  these  slips  is  obliged  to  write 
his  name  on  it  and  the  day  it  was  used.  When  some  other 
clerk  opens  the  package,  if  he  finds  in  it  any  letters  put 
there  by  mistake  and  thus  delayed,  he  at  once  writes  upon 
the  back  of  the  slip  a  list  of  the  errors  and  sends  it  to  the 
office  of  the  superintendent  of  division,  where  an  account 
is  kept  for  every  man ;  he  is  debited  with  all  the  errors 
reported  against  him  and  credited  with  all  that  he  reports 
against  any  one  else,  and  at  the  end  of  each  month  every 
clerk  as  well  as  the  department  receives  a  summary  of  his 
record. 

If  your  letter  is  addressed  to  someone  in  a  foreign  land 
it  passes  to  a  steamship  post-office,  for  the  working  of  the 
railway  post-office  has  proved  so  satisfactory  that  a  few 
years  ago  American  mail  clerks  were  placed  on  the  import- 
ant steamers  running  between  New  York  and  English  and 
German  ports.  Large  staterooms  are  fitted  up  with  racks 
of  pigeon-holes  and  bag  holders.  Here  clerks  selected  from 
the  best  material  in  the  railway  service  work  from  eight  to 
ten  hours  a  day  during  a  voyage.  On  the  German  ships 
the  American  "sea  post-clerk"  has  charge  on  the  eastward 
voyage,  and  the  German  "  Keichs-Post-Secretaer "  when 
coming  this  way.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Germans 
have  a  more  high-sounding  name  and  are  dressed  in  elabor- 
ate uniforms  with  gold  braid,  and  carry  a  small  sword,  the 
American  clerks  are  the  most  efficient.  Under  the  careful 
system  of  examination  and  inspection  in  our  Post-Office 


FAITHFUL  GRAY-COATED  LETTER  CARRIERS.  325 

Department  the  percentage  of  errors  has  steadily  dimin- 
ished, till  now,  taking  the  whole  service  for  a  single  year, 
there  is  not  more  than  one  error  to  every  11,000  pieces 
handled. 

Uncle  Sam  employs  about  15,000  faithful  gray-coated 
letter  carriers  in  cities,  at  an  expense  of  about  $15,000,000  a 
year.  Of  course  a  large  portion  of  mail  goes  into  very 
thinly-settled  districts  without  means  of  rapid  communica- 
tion. For  such  transportation  we  have  what  are  called 
"Star  Koutes";  they  are  simply  mail  routes  upon  which 
the  mails  are  carried  by  riders,  stages,  wagons  or  other 
similar  means,  and  such  service  is  let  out  by  contract. 
Under  the  statute  these  contracts  were  designated  as 
"celerity,  certainty,  and  security"  contracts,  those  con- 
ditions being  the  essentials  for  successful  bids.  In  writing 
the  record  of  such  contracts  they  are  abbreviated  by  repeti- 
tions of  the  letter  x,  thus  (x  x  x)  or  "  stars,"  and  so  came  to 
be  spoken  of  as  the  star  bids  and  star  routes.  There  are 
now  about  225,000  of  these  in  operation,  and  one-quarter  of 
them  are  let  every  year  for  four  years.  They  vary  in 
length  from  a  fraction  of  a  mile  to  several  hundred  miles, 
the  longest  one  being  the  route  from  Juneau,  Alaska,  over 
the  passes  and  down  the  Yukon  to  Tanana,  a  distance  of 
1,618  miles.  There  is  another  almost  as  long  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon  up  to  Tanana,  and  it  is  on  these  routes 
that  all  the  mail  for  the  Klondike  and  other  mining  settle- 
ments is  carried. 

Although  some  of  these  routes  cost  Uncle  Sam  a  great 
deal  more  than  he  receives  from  them  in  revenue,  others  do 
not,  and  some  of  the  bids  are,  for  various  reasons,  so  low  as 
to  seem  almost  ridiculous.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
case  came  to  the  attention  of  the  Postmaster-General  in  1900 
when  checks  were  being  mailed  to  these  contractors.  It  was 
discovered  that  the  contractor  who  carries  the  mail  between 
Dodgeville,  Wisconsin,  and  Mineral  Point,  a  distance  of 


326        LIVELY   COMPETITION  FOR  A  ONE  CENT  ROUTE. 

nine  miles,  had  not  received  a  check  for  the  three  previous 
quarters  and  hence  it  became  necessary  to  include  the 
amount  for  a  whole  year's  work  in  his  check.  The  amount 
was  exactly  one  cent  —  the  contract  price.  Inasmuch  as 
our  currency  does  not  boast  of  quarter-cent  pieces,  the  con- 
tractor could  not  well  collect  his  money  oftener  than  once  a 
year.  He  has  been  offered  as  high  as  twenty  dollars  by 
curiosity  seekers  for  his  check,  but  like  ex-President  Cleve- 
land, who  once  received  a  check  for  one  cent  to  make  up  a 
deficiency  in  his  salary  due  to  an  oversight,  this  contractor 
keeps  his  check,  though  in  another  year  if  he  fulfills  his 
contract,  he  will  receive  another. 

Both  Dodgeville  and  Mineral  Point  have  railroads,  but 
there  is  none  between  the  two  towns,  and  as  the  trip  by  rail 
is  so  expensive  and  round  about,  both  mail  and  passengers 
are  driven  across  country.  Whoever  holds  the  contract  for 
carrying  the  mails  feels  that  he  is  certain  of  all  the  passen- 
ger and  baggage  traffic,  and  for  this  reason  the  transfer  of 
the  mail  is  deemed  a  valuable  privilege.  When  the  Dodge- 
ville star  route  came  up  for  bids  the  liveliest  kind  of  compe- 
tition ensued,  and  the  fight  was  even  carried  to  Washington, 
as  the  politicians  wished  to  use  the  mail  carrier  as  a  factor 
in  getting  votes.  The  competitors  knew  they  would  have 
to  drop  to  a  low  price,  although  the  last  contractor  had  been 
receiving  $40  a  year.  The  three  lowest  bids  were  $1.50, 
thirty-nine  cents,  and  one  cent,  the  latter  being  the  present 
contractor.  He  got  it.  But  he  makes  about  $600  a  year 
carrying  passengers  and  baggage,  and  he  is  a  factor  in  poli- 
tics, so  he  believes  he  is  well  paid. 

The  post-offices  of  the  country  form  a  great  altruistic 
system.  The  stronger  help  the  weaker.  The  great  post- 
office  at  New  York  is  run  at  a  profit  to  the  government  of 
nearly  $10,000,000  a  year,  while  the  great  majority  of  the 
post-offices  do  not  begin  to  pay  their  expenses.  In  over 
3,000  post-offices  in  the  country  the  yearly  receipts  are  less 


WIRE-PULLING   FOR   PLACES.  327 

than  ten  dollars;  in  10,000  it  is  between  ten  dollars  and 
thirty  dollars ;  and  in  over  40,000  it  is  less  than  two  hun- 
dred dollars  a  year.  In  these  small  or  fourth-class  offices, 
where  the  receipts  are  less  than  fifty  dollars  a  quarter,  the 
postmaster  takes  the  whole  and  the  government  gets  noth- 
ing; between  this  figure  and  up  to  one  hundred  dollars  a 
quarter,  the  postmaster  takes  sixty  per  cent. ;  between  this 
and  $200  he  takes  fifty  per  cent.,  and  over  the  excess  above 
that  figure,  he  takes  forty  per  cent,  till  he  receives  $250. 

But  while  in  fully  two-thirds  of  the  offices  the  gross  re- 
ceipts are  less  than  $200  a  year,  there  is  always  the  greatest 
scramble  for  the  places  and  the  most  determined  political 
wire-pulling  over  the  appointments.  This  business,  which 
is  in  charge  of  the  Fourth  Assistant  Postmaster-General, 
who  is  sometimes  called  the  "  axeman,"  is  parceled  out  to 
some  fifteen  clerks,  who  receive  each  application,  put  it  in  a 
jacket,  and  file  it  away.  All  communications  of  Congress- 
men or  local  politicians  are  filed  with  it,  and  when  the  time 
comes  to  appoint,  the  Postmaster-General  has  but  to  press 
a  button  and  all  the  papers  relating  to  the  smallest  office  in 
the  country  can  be  laid  before  him,  and  he  can  see  what  sort 
of  a  fight  it  is,  for  there  is  always  more  or  less  rivalry. 

With  the  growth  of  the  free  rural  delivery  system  many 
of  these  small  offices  will  disappear.  Although  rural  de- 
livery is  as  yet  established  in  but  a  few  places,  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  little  postmasters  has  been  aroused.  'The  follow- 
ing are  sample  letters  received  recently  at  the  Poet-Office 

Department : 

OHIO 19 

I  am  postmaster  at  this  place,  and  they  are  going  to  have  rural  free 
delivery  come  within  one-eighth  of  a  mile  of  this  office  and  take  away  all 
its  business.  To  take  the  office  away  takes  part  of  my  living  away  from 
me.  I  have  a  wife  and  two  children.  I  have  only  been  in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  government  a  little  over  a  year.  I  beg  you  for  some  kind  of 
an  appointment.  I  am  not  "  choicy  " —  any  place  in  the  mail  service  of  the 
United  States.  Respectfully, 

Postmaster. 


328  RURAL  FREE  DELIVERY. 

ILL 19 

There  has  been  established  a  rural  free  delivery  service  at 

a  small  town  three  miles  distant,  and  they  have  extended  the  route  within 
one  mile  of  my  office  on  the  south  and  west.  By  doing  this  they  take 
from  me  over  fifty  persons  who  formerly  rented  boxes  at  my  office.  There- 
fore it  is  a  discrimination  against  this  office.  Is  there  any  remedy  for  the 
above-mentioned  encroachment  ? 

Respectfully, 

Postmaster. 

But  free  rural  delivery  wagons  have  come  to  stay,  and 
therefore  the  little  crossroads  post-office  will  have  to  go  in 
time.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  two  different  Postmaster- 
Generals  declined  to  make  the  experiment  of  rural  delivery, 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  cost  $20,000,000  to  introduce  it, 
and  yet  it  has  been  extensively  instituted  for  less  than  half 
a  million,  and  routes  are  beginning  to  pay  for  themselves 
soon  after  being  put  in  operation.  This  is  something  which 
the  little  fourth-class  post-offices  never  did. 

The  present  Post-Office  authorities  believe  that  rural  de- 
livery may  in  the  end  save  a  great  amount  of  money,  so  that 
the  letter  rate  may  be  reduced  to  one  cent.  Requests  for 
the  rural  delivery  are  now  multiplying  like  an  endless  chain, 
for  farmers  have  heard  that  where  the  system  has  been 
established  the  value  of  land  has  risen  from  two  to  five  dol- 
lars an  acre.  The  system  is  being  established  as  rapidly  as 
inspectors  can  la}r  out  and  provide  for  the  best  routes.  It 
is  a  great  accommodation  to  the  farmer  to  be  spared  a  drive 
of  from  five  to  ten  miles  ove'r  country  roads  to  get  his  mail, 
and  he  writes  more  letters  and  takes  more  papers  and  maga- 
zines when  he  finds  that  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  go  to  a  box 
on  his  front  yard  fence  and  post  or  receive  mail.  One  en- 
thusiastic farmer  in  Missouri,  in  praising  the  Post-Office 
authorities,  said  that  in  fifteen  years  he  had  driven  12,000 
miles  to  and  from  the  post-office  to  get  the  mail  which  now 
came  to  his  door. 

When  an  order  is  issued  for  the  establishment  of  a  rural 


ITINERANT  POST-OFFICES.  329 

route  the  postmaster  is  advised  of  its  character,  and  in- 
formed that  the  carriers  are  under  his  control,  and  that 
their  pay  will  be  $400  a  year.  The  carriers  in  many  places 
have  special  wagons,  fitted  up  with  pigeon-holes.  They  sell 
stamps,  register  letters  and  parcels ;  in  fact,  do  all  the  work 
of  the  smaller  offices.  All  the  boxes  along  the  route  are  of 
galvanized  iron,  arranged  with  a  signal,  so  that  the  carrier 
knows  if  there  is  anything  to  collect  and  the  householder  if 
anything  has  been  delivered.  Some  of  the  routes  are  in 
localities  famous  for  blizzards  in  winter,  and  the  carriers 
need  to  prepare  accordingly ;  but  they  rarely  fail  to  make 
their  trips  over  the  roughest  roads.  On  some  of  the  experi- 
mental routes  girl  carriers  have  been  employed,  and  they 
are  reported  to  be  as  unflagging  in  their  devotion  to  the 
service  as  the  men.  So  pronounced  has  been  the  success  of 
the  routes  already  established  that  it  will  not  be  long  before 
Uncle  Sam's  itinerant  post-offices  will  be  familiar  sights 
upon  the  long  country  roads  of  every  state  in  the  Union, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  DEAD-LETTER  OFFICE  —  ITS  MARVELS  AND  MYSTERIES 

—  OPENING  AND  INSPECTING  THE  "DEAD"  MAIL- 

SOME  CURIOUS  AND  TOUCHING  REVELATIONS 
—  THE    DEAD  -  LETTER    MUSEUM. 

What  Is  a  Dead  Letter  ?  —  "  Stickers  "  and  "  Nixies  "  —  8,000,000  of  Dead 
Letters  and  Packages  a  Year  —  Opening  the  "  Dead  "  Mail  —  Guardiog 
the  Secrets  of  Careless  Letter  Writers  —  Returning  $50,000  in  Money 
and  $1,200,000  in  Checks  Every  Year  —What  Becomes  of  the  Valuables 
Found  in  Letters  —  The  Fate  of  Letters  That  Cannot  Be  Returned  — 
'  Deciphering  Illegible  Scrawls  —  Common  Mistakes  —  Unusual  Errors 

—  Some  Odd  Directions  —  '*  English  As  She  Is  Wrote  "  —  Some  Queer 
Requests— 60,000  Missent  Photographs  Every  Year  — A  Huge  Book 
of    Photographs  —  Identifying  the    Faces   of    Loved  Ones  —  Tear- 
Blinded  Mothers  — The  Dead-Letter  Museum  — Odd  Things  Found 
in  the  Mails  —  Snakes  and  Horned  Toads  —  The  Lost  Ring  and  Its 
Singular  Recovery  —  A  Baby  Elephant  —  Tokens  of  Love  and  Re- 
membrance—  Dead-Letter  Auction  Sales. 


VERY  year  hundreds  of  thousands  of  misdirected 
letters,  or  letters  having  no  address  at  all,  or  so 
illegibly  written  as  to  be  undecipherable  except 
by  an  expert,  or  letters  that  are  unclaimed,  pass 
through  the  hands  of  postal  clerks.  Some  of  these 
superscriptions  are  so  bad  that  it  is  a  wonder  how 
any  of  them  ever  reach  their  destination.  Addresses 
scrawled  in  this  fashion  are  known  to  the  postal  fra- 
ternity as  "  stickers  " ;  and  if  they  are  absolutely  unread- 
able even  to  intelligent  and  experienced  post-office  clerks 
they  are  called  "  nixies."  When  expert  clerks  in  the  largest 
post-offices  in  the  United  States  are  unable  to  decipher  the 

(830) 


BRINGING  "DEAD"  LETTERS  TO  LIFE.  331 

address,  they  are  sent  to  the  Dead-Letter  Office  at  "Washing- 
ton as  a  last  resort.  Thus  in  this  and  other  ways  every  year 
nearly  8,000,000  pieces  of  mail  matter  are  received  at  this 
Post-Office  morgue,  though  only  a  small  portion  of  them 
prove  to  be  absolutely  dead,  for  in  the  hands  of  the  Dead- 
Letter  Office  experts  many  apparently  hopeless  cases  are 
brought  to  life  and  delivered  to  their  owners. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Dead-Letter  Office  on  the  third 
floor  of  the  department  building  afford  adequate  facilities 
for  the  ever-growing  requirements  of  this  interesting  branch 
of  government  work  ;  for  while  Uncle  Sam's  people  gener- 
ally write  better  than  they  once  could,  they  seem  to  be  as 
careless  as  ever.  It  requires  the  services  of  some  of  the 
brightest,  keenest-witted  officials  of  the  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment to  rectify  their  errors,  and  prevent,  if  possible,  unfor- 
tunate and  even  disastrous  losses  arising  from  haste  and 
inaccuracy  in  addressing  a  letter. 

The  mail  matter  which  finds  its  way  here  is  of  different 
kinds :  —  that  which  is  properly  addressed  but  has  no  post- 
age ;  that  which  has  insufficient,  wrong,  or  illegible  direc- 
tions ;  that  which  has  no  direction  whatever ;  that  which 
was  properly  sent  but  never  called  for,  and  articles  the 
transmission  of  which  in  the  mails  is  forbidden.  Mail 
matter  falling  within  these  classes  arrives  at  the  Dead- 
Letter  Office  at  the  average  rate  of  over  20,000  pieces  a 
day,  and  here  every  piece  must  pass  at  least  three  sets  of 
clerks,  and  anything  containing  articles  of  money  value  is 
examined  by  at  least  three  more. 

As  the  dead  mail  is  dumped  out,  one  would  suppose  that 
the  bags  contained  farm  produce  or  merchandise,  rather 
than  heart-messages  and  treasures  gone  astray.  The 
pieces  are  carefully  counted  and  a  record  made  of  the 
letters  and  packages,  the  former  being  tied  into  bundles  of 
one  hundred  each.  They  then  pass  to  a  second  force  of 
clerks  whose  duty  it  is  to  violate  the  sanctity  of  the  seal ; 


332  GUARDING  MISSENT  MONEY. 

but  the  officials  and  clerks  of  the  Dead-Letter  Office  have  a 
proper  regard  for  any  legitimate  secrets  of  the  people.  This 
opening  process  is  done  by  men  armed  with  a  keen  knife, 
with  one  stroke  of  which  the  envelope  is  cut  lengthwise,  and 
at  the  next  instant  the  contents  are  being  examined.  These 
men  are  of  tried  honesty,  for  a  large  amount  of  money  is 
found  in  these  letters  every  day.  The  most  expert  openers 
average  about  3,000  letters  a  day  each,  and  the  work  is  so 
severe  upon  the  steel  knives,  that  though  an  inch  wide  when 
new,  in  a  few  months'  time  the  cutting  of  the  envelopes 
wears  them  away  to  the  thinnest  possible  blade. 

Should  a  letter  be  found  containing  money,  even  a  single 
cent,  or  a  stamp  —  or  a  postal  order,  bank  notes,  drafts, 
checks,  or  any  legal  tender,  the  opener  notes  the  kind  and 
value  of  the  "  find "  on  the  envelope  and  also  in  a  record 
book,  which  at  the  close  of  the  day,  with  the  letters,  is  given 
to  the  chief  of  the  division,  who  examines  and  verifies  the 
reports  and  accounts  of  the  several  clerks.  The  letters  and 
money  then  pass  to  the  chief  of  the  so-called  Money  Branch 
who  again  verifies  the  record  and  gives  a  receipt. 

Only  the  clerks  employed  in  this  branch  have  access  to  it, 
and  the  large  iron  safes,  vaults,  and  ledgers  give  its  quarters 
the  air  of  a  counting-room.  Each  clerk  gives  a  receipt  for 
the  amount  entrusted  to  him,  and  it  is  his  business,  whenever 
it  is  possible,  to  forward,  or  to  return  the  letter  with  its  con- 
tents to  the  sender  in  care  of  the  postmaster,  who  is  respons- 
ible for  its  safe  delivery  and  who  must  return  a  receipt  for 
it  to  the  department.  Every  possible  protection  is  thus 
thrown  around  it.  Whenever  the  money  cannot  be  for- 
warded or  returned  to  the  sender,  on  account  of  the  writer's 
failure  to  give  his  name  or  his  post-office  address,  it  is  held^ 
in  the  Dead-Letter  Office  for  one  year  in  the  anticipation 
that  it  may  be  applied  for.  If  not,  the  money  is  turned  into 
the  United  States  Treasury,  and  may  be  reclaimed  within 
four  years. 


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CORRECTING  THE  ERRORS  OF  THE  CARELESS.     335 

The  carelessness  of  a  great  many  people  in  sending 
money  is  almost  incredible.  Many  letters  are  received  con- 
taining large  amounts,  without  a  scrap  of  writing  to  indicate 
whence  they  came  or  whither  they  should  go.  Over  80,000 
letters  and  parcels  are  received  here  every  year  bearing  no 
address  whatever,  and  among  them  have  been  found  letters 
known  to  enclose  drafts  to  the  amount  of  $2,500  each.  Yet 
it  is  but  a  small  portion  of  the  money  received  for  which  the 
office  fails  to  find  owners.  It  now  returns  to  its  owners 
every  year  about  $50,000  in  money  and  about  $1,200,000  in 
checks,  while  the  amount  for  which  no  owners  can  be  found 
does  not  usually  amount  to  as  much  as  $20,000  a  year. 
Thus,  thanks  to  the  painstaking  care  of  Uncle  Sam,  careless 
people  lose  very  little  in  this  way. 

A  fair  sample  of  letters  of  this  kind  was  that  posted  at 
Boston  not  long  ago  and  addressed  simply: — "'Dr.  Wash- 
burn,  Eoberts  College."  '  Opened,  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
check  for  $1,000.  The  experts  at  the  Dead-Letter  Office 
who  "  make  it  a  business  to  know  "  many  things  which  are 
not  commonly  known,  knew  that  Dr.  Washburn  was  presi- 
dent of  Eobert  College  in  Constantinople,  Turkey,  and  the 
letter  with  enclosure  was  forwarded  to  him  so  that  he  re- 
ceived it  in  sixteen  days  after  it  was  posted.  A  son  may 
send  to  his  aged  mother  ten  dollars  of  his  hard-earned  sav- 
ings and  the  letter  never  reaches  her,  because,  perhaps,  in 
the  long  interval  between  communications  she  has  moved 
elsewhere,  or  for  some  reason  cannot  be  found.  He  has 
pmitted  in  his  letter  to  give  his  own  post-office  address,  but 
perhaps  that  may  be  obtained  from  the  postmark  on  the  en- 
velope, and  if  so  the  letter  is  returned  to  him.  Such  are 
only  general  cases.  They  present,  however,  a  great  variety. 

Dead  letters  that  contain  neither  money  nor  valuables 
are  given  one  last  chance  before  they  are  consigned  to  the 
waste-basket.  A  force  of  clerks  do  their  utmost  to  deliver 
them,  and  they  are  each  expected  to  work  through  about  300 


336 


THE  PERPLEXING 


letters  a  day.  Even  letters  that  contain  nothing  valuable 
are  returned,  if  possible,  to  their  writers.  If  they  cannot  be, 
they  are  thrown  into  the  waste-basket.  This  waste  paper  is 
not  burned,  but  sold  —  and  affords  the  government  a  consid- 
erable revenue.  "With  all  his  extravagances,  this  is  but  one 
of  numerous  ways  by  which  Uncle  Sam  manages  to  turn  an 
economical  penny  out  of  the  carelessness  and  misfortunes  of 
his  numerous  nephews  and  nieces. 


FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  ELIZABETH,  N.  J. 

The  oddest  and  most  interesting  class  of  dead  letters  are 
those  which  are  misdirected  or  are  illegible  —  those  which 
the  postal  clerks  call  "  nixies."  They  number  over  2,000 
daily,  and  the  clerks  whose  business  it  is  to  unravel  unintel- 
ligible directions  and  undecipherable  scrawls  have  by  expe- 
rience become  so  expert  that  a  large  majority  of  them  are 
forwarded.  Many  enigmas  are  at  once  apparent  to  them, 
as  when,  for  example,  a  letter  may  be  addressed  "  20  Des- 


DECIPHERING  THE  UNDECIPHERABLE. 


337 


brosses  Street,  New  Jersey,"  meaning,  of  course,  "  New 
York."  But  the  chief  trouble  comes  from  foreigners  who 
do  not  understand  "  English  as  she  is  wrote,"  and  conse- 
quently spell  Largely  by  sound.  Thus  an  Italian  writes 
"  Avergrasson "  for  Havre-de-Grace ;  a  Hungarian  spells 
New  Jersey  "  Schaszerscie."  "  Senoch,  Dickalp  Co.,  111." 
was  written  for  Somonauk,  De  Kalb  Co.,  111. 


FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  TO  HENRY  MAJNACKI,  JERSEY 

CITY,  N.  J. 

To  the  inexperienced  person  it  would  appear  almost 
impossible  to  decipher  some  of  the  letters  which  find  their 
way  to  the  Dead-Letter  Office  from  the  larger  cities  where 
there  is  a  growing  foreign  colony.  But  this  class  of  letters 
is  the  simplest  that  officials  have  to  deal  with,  and  in  many 
instances  it  is  not  even  necessary  to  examine  the  contents  of 
the  letter  to  ascertain  its  proper  destination. 

The  above  is  a  good  specimen  of  a  "  nixie,"  apparently  a 


338  BLUNDERS  OF   THE  ABSENT-MINDED. 

hopeless  tangle  of  meaningless  lines,  yet  it  was  deciphered 
and  safely  delivered. 

A  not  unusual  error  arises  from  a  certain  vague  associa- 
tion of  ideas,  as  when  a  letter  addressed  "  Eat  Trap,  Miss.," 
should  have  read  "  Fox  Trap,  Miss." 

On  one  occasion  the  Postmaster-General  received  a  letter 
from  a  woman  living  in  the  south  of  England,  requesting 
him  to  find  her  brother  who  had  left  the  old  country  thir- 
teen years  before  —  during  which  time  his  relatives  had 
received  no  news  from  him  — and  deliver  a  letter  which  she 
enclosed  addressed  thus :  —  "  Mr.  rames  Gunn,  Power-Loom 
Shuttle  Maker,  Mass.,  America  "  Tt  was  turned  over  to  the 
experts  in  the  Dead-Letter  Office  anu  Mr.  Gunn  was  found 
at  No.  4  Barrington  St.,  Lowell,  Mass.  It  was  a  curious 
sequel  to  this  that  a  few  months  afterward  another  letter 
came  to  the  Dead-Letter  Office  addressed  to  "Mr.  James 
Gunn,  No.  4  Barrington  St.,  America." 

These  experts  have  a  remarkable  knowledge  of  the  post- 
offices  of  the  country,  and  even  the  streets  of  many  cities, 
and  a  ready  facility  in  interpreting  certain  scrawls  while 
having. in  mind  the  nativity  of  the  person  who  made  them, 
as  judged  from  the  post-office  mark.  Sometimes  the  true 
address  can  only  be  guessed,  and  in  such  cases  the  clerk 
attaches  to  the  letter  a  little  printed  slip  bearing  the  follow- 
ing request : 

Post-Office  Department,  Dead-Letter  Office, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  19—. 

Postmaster :  —  Upon  the  delivery  of  this  letter  please 
obtain  the  envelope,  if  agreeable  to  the  party  addressed 
and  return  it  to  the  Dead-Letter  Office.  If  the  letter  can- 
not be  delivered  you  will,  at  the  expiration  of  seven  days, 
stamp  the  letter  with  your  postmarking  stamp,  and  return 
it  and  this  circular  to  the  Dead-Letter  Office,  with  your 
next  return  of  unmailable  letters,  duly  numbered  and  en- 
tered on  the  list,  Form  No.  1522. 

When  an  empty  envelope  thus  returns,  it  is  proof  of  the 


TWO  VERY   UNPROMISING  SPECIMENS. 


339 


FACSIMILE   OF  A   DEAD    LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  5',>7  FERRY  ST.,  NEWARK, 

N.  J. 


FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  TO  EOX  85,  CARTERET,  N.  J. 


340    KEEN  WIT  AND  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  EXPERTS. 

correctness  of  the  surmise.  An  envelope  thus  recalled  was 
addressed  to  "Mr.  Brown,  Oil  Corn,  Miss."  There  is  no 
such  office  in  Mississippi  or  elsewhere,  but  the  expert  knew 
that  there  was  an  Alcorn  University,  a  negro  institution, 
located  at  Jackson,  Mississippi.  The  corrected  or  sur- 
mised address  was  written  on  the  slip  and  the  letter  for- 
warded. The  return  of  the  empty  envelope  later  showed 
that  the  surmise  was  correct. 


sWu^f^- 

^^>^d-^ 


FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  22  CHARLOTTE  ST., 
HARTFORD,  CT. 

In  dealing  with  many  of  these  dead  letters  the  experts 
are  called  upon  to  exercise  the  keenest  judgment  and  famil- 
iarity with  people  and  places  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
It  is  the  policy  of  the  Post-Office  Department  to  preserve  as 
far  as  possible  the  sanctity  of  the  mails,  and  therefore  the 
experts  avoid  putting  the  letters  "under  the  knife"  only 
as  a  last  resort.  Their  wits  are  sharpened  to  cut  the  knots 


AN   "INSUFFICIENT  ADDRESS." 


341 


of  the  problem.  For  instance,  a  letter  was  recently  sent  to 
the  Dead-Letter  Office  addressed  simply,  in  very  poor  hand- 
writing :  — 

new  york  Chicago  boston  st.  lowis. 

This   letter    was    received  at  the    Dead-Letter    Office 
stamped  across    its  face :    "  Insufficient  Address."      The 


FACSIMILE  OF  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  AT  229  JACKSON  ST.,  HOBO- 
KEN,  N.  J. 

experts  in  the  Dead-Letter  Office  knew  by  experience  that 
there  is  a  large  business  firm  having  branch  offices,  in  all 
these  cities,  and  that  this  firm  is  a  large  advertiser  and 
receives  thousands  of  letters  from  the  rural  districts.  With- 
out opening  the  letter  it  was  concluded  that  it  was  intended 
for  this  firm  and  was  accordingly  sent  to  them  at  Chicago, 
and  it  proved  to  be  the  letter's  correct  destination. 

Another  odd  class  of  letters  are  those  which  have  only 
19 


342  TRAVELS  OF   MISDIRECTED  LETTERS. 

initials  to  guide  the  clerk,  as  for  instance,  "  U  P  S  Ohio," 
which  was  correctly  interpreted  Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio ; 
another,  "  I  S  K  S  "  means  the  Iowa  State  Normal  School. 
Occasionally  a  letter  is  received  before  which  the  experts 
acknowledge  themselves  vanquished  as,  for  example,  an 
address  like  this  :  — 

"  For  my  son  out  West.  He  drives  red  oxen  and  the 
railroad  goes  bi  thar." 

All  letters  sent  evidently  for  the  sole  purpose  of  puzzling 
or  annoying  experts  of  the  Dead-Letter  Office  are  classed  as 
freak  letters  and  receive  no  attention. 

Sometimes  an  attempted  witticism  like  this  is  perpe- 
trated : 

"  Sylvester  Brown,  a  red-faced  scrub, 
To  whom  this  letter  wants  to  go, 
Is  chopping  cord  wood  for  his  grub, 
In  Silver  City,  Idaho." 

A  letter  mailed  in  Eussia  addressed  "  Marshall  Sons  & 
Co.,  Limited,  Gainsborough,"  reached  the  United  States 
and  was  forwarded  to  Gainesboro,  Tenn.,  that  being  the 
largest  office  in  the  United  States  by  that  name.  Being 
undeliverable  at  Gainesboro,  Tenn.,  it  was  sent  to  the 
Dead-Letter  Office  in  bad  order,  and  thence  sent  to  the 
Postmaster-General,  London,  England,  for  delivery  at 
Gainsborough,  England,  with  a  special  communication,  and 
a  receipt  acknowledging  its  delivery  was  returned.  This 
letter  contained  a  draft  for  $40,000. 

A  letter  mailed  in  New  York,  N.  Y.,  and  addressed 
to  Charles  Arnold,  Austria,  failed  of  delivery  to  the  ad- 
dressee and  was  returned  as  unclaimed  from  the  country  of 
destination.  It  was  opened  and  found  to  contain  a  Bank  of 
England  note  for  £100  and  a  letter  signed  simply  with  the 
initials  "  W.  S.  J."  The  letter,  with  its  inclosure,  was  sub- 
sequently forwarded  to  the  postmaster  at  New  York,  N.Y., 
and  by  him  delivered  to  the  sender. 


REMARKABLE   WORK  OF  AN  EXPERT. 


343 


An  instance  of  skill  in  the  treatment  of  improperly- 
addressed  mail  matter  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
facsimile  of  the  envelope  of  a  letter  sent  to  the  Dead- Letter 
Office  as  undeliverable.  The  address  was  supplied  and  the 
letter  subsequently  delivered  unopened  to  the  addressee. 


^••^W^  7^* 


•& 


FACSIMILE  OP  A  DEAD  LETTER  DELIVERED  UNOPENED,  TO  THE 
REV.  F.  H.  FARRAR,  CLEVELAND,  N.  Y. 

All  mail  matter  from  foreign  countries  to  the  United 
States  which  for  any  cause  cannot  be  delivered  is  handled 
in  the  Foreign  Division  of  the  office,  which  also  receives 
matter  sent  from  the  United  States  to  foreign  countries  and 
found  undeliverable  there.  Eecords  are  kept  of  registered 
letters,  of  parcels,  of  applications  made  for  missing  matter 
of  foreign  origin,  of  everything  of  value  delivered,  and 
finally  of  all  mail  matter  returned  from  foreign  countries. 
To  what  is  called  the  Minor  Division  are  confined  manu- 
scripts, t>hotographs,  and  miscellaneous  papers  of  minor 


344    SEEKING  THE  FACES  OF  THE  LOVED  AND  LOST. 

value.  About  60,000  photographs  are  received  by  this 
division  every  year  and  two-thirds  of  them  are  usually 
restored  to  their  owners. 

During  the  Civil  "War,  tens  of  thousands  of  photographs 
were  sent  astray.  The  husband,  the  father,  the  brother, 
the  son,  under  whose  name  they  came  —  alas!  when  they 
reached  his  regiment  he  slept  perchance  in  some  heaped-up 
trench,  in  an  unknown  grave,  or  lay  among  the  unburied 
dead  —  far  beyond  the  reach  of  loving  mementos  and 
messages  from  the  loved  ones  at  home,  so  they  were 
returned  to  this  receptacle  of  unclaimed  postal  communi- 
cations. An  immense  book  was  kept  which  contained 
thousands  of  photographs  that  had  been  sent  by  soldiers  to 
dear  friends  at  home.  The  chances  of  war  are  sufficient  to 
account  for  their  going  astray  and  for  their  return  to  the 
Dead-Letter  Office.  With  a  tender  hand,  the  government 
gathered  these  pictures  of  its  lost  and  unknown  sons  and 
garnered  them  here,  for  the  sake  of  the  living.  Friends 
came  from  far  and  near  to  turn  over  the  pages  of  this  book, 
in  the  hope  of  identifying  the  faces  of  loved  ones  who 
perished  in  the  war,  and  many  a  tear-blinded  woman  has 
sought  and  found  them  here  at  last. 

The  opening  of  "dead"  mail  is  not  very  agreeable  work, 
though  nearly  every  package  contains  a  surprise  of  some 
kind.  '  Everything  imaginable  is  intrusted  to  Uncle  Sam, 
from  the  daintiest  fancy  work  and  most  costly  jewelry  to 
soiled  undergarments  and  worn-out  tooth-brushes.  Every 
year  an  auction  of  all  articles  for  which  owners  cannot  be 
found,  is  held,  and  the  sale  nets  a  good  round  sum  which  is 
turned  into  the  Treasury. 

A  few  of  the  oddest  or  choicest  specimens  are  retained 
for  the  Department  Museum,  in  which  may  be  found  a  most 
remarkable  collection  of  "everything  under  the  sun."  In 
this  accumulation  of  stranded  treasures  are  patchwork 
quilts,  under  and  outer  garments;  hats,  caps,  bonnets; 


A  MOTLEY  AND   MYSTERIOUS  COLLECTION.  347 

shoes  and  stockings ;  embroideries,  baby- wardrobes,  watches, 
and  jewels  of  every  description.  Books  have  come  to  the 
Dead-Letter  Office  by  the  thousand,  and  room  is  provided 
for  only  two  or  three  very  old  and  valuable  specimens  here : 
a  New  Testament  in  Chinese,  a  life  of  Ignatius  Loyola 
printed  in  Venice  in  1711,  and  others  that  date  back  to 
the  seventeenth  century.  Near  by  is  the  Lord's  Prayer  in 
fifty-four  languages,  and  a  certificate  of  character,  over 
a  hundred  years  old,  written  for  an  apprentice  by  his 
master.  Why  should  they  have  appeared  among  the  lost? 
That  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Dead-Letter  Office. 
Many  of  these  treasures  were  precious  keepsakes  from  those 
who  fondly  sent  them  —  under  very  unintelligible  super- 
scriptions —  to  sweethearts  whom  they  never  reached. 
Some  are  tokens  from  far-off  lands  beyond  the  seas,  but 
fated  never  to  find  the  ones  they  sought. 

Here  are  two  miniatures  painted  on  ivory,  apparently  of 
father  and  son,  which  were  found  in  a  letter  from  Boston 
without  any  address,  and  all  efforts  to  find  the  owners  were 
unavailing.  Here  is  a  crucifix  of  gold  and  carnelian  from 
Atlanta  which  no  one  claimed.  Here  are  rings  set  with 
diamonds  and  sapphires,  in  close  proximity  to  great  snakes 
which  were  received  alive  and  are  now  preserved  in  jars  of 
alcohol.  Other  preserved  specimens  of  the  animal  kingdom 
consist  of  star  fish,  horned  toads,  and  an  alligator  about 
three  feet  long. 

With  singular  incongruity,  and  yet  with  a  tasteful  dis- 
play, are  arranged  wedding  cake,  packages  of  arsenic  and 
strychnine,  bowie  knives,  and  false  teeth,  some  of  which 
have  been  worn  and  some  of  which  have  not ;  an  old  Eng- 
lish hatbox  that  looks  as  if  it  had  circumnavigated  the 
globe;  coffeepots,  washboards,  barbed  wire,  revolvers,  salad 
oil,  brandy  and  perfumes,  dolls,  brownies,  and  idols ;  dyna- 
mite bombs  and  musical  instruments ;  human  skulls  and 
firecrackers ;  insect  killers  and  consumption  cures ;  daggers 


348  CURIOS  OF  THE  DEAD-LETTER  OFFICE. 

and  valentines;  deeds,  wills,  pension  papers;  doorplates, 
fans,  and  innumerable  articles,  illustrating  the  variety  elf 
matter  sent  through  the  mails  daily,  but  which  never 
reaches  its  destination. 

Occasionally,  after  keeping  such  articles  for  a  time,  an 
owner  appears.  A  young  lady  once  sent  a  ring  to  a  friend 
by  mail  —  a  peculiar  moss  agate  which  she  highly  valued. 
It  was  never  delivered,  and  its  fate  remained  a  mystery  for 
several  years.  Subsequently  when  visiting  a  distant  state 
she  was  greatly  surprised  one  morning  to  find  opposite  her 
at  the  breakfast  table  a  stranger  wearing  her  long-lost  ring. 
The  ring  was  so  unique  that  she  had  no  doubt  of  its 
identity.  Upon  inquiry  she  found  that  it  had  been  pur- 
chased at  one  of  the  "  Dead-Letter  Auction  Sales "  at 
Washington. 

Once  among  the  curiosities  was  a  cloth  "  baby  elephant " 
with  one  of  his  sides  gorgeously  embroidered  with  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  and  the  other  flaunting  the  English  colors,  the 
two  linked  by  a  golden  chain.  For  years  it  remained 
simply  a  museum  feature,  but  it  once  was  begged  as  an 
attraction  for  a  church  fair.  It  so  happened  that  a  lady 
from  New  Hampshire  was  visiting  Washington  at  the  time 
and  went  to  the  fair.  To  the  surprise  of  her  friends  she 
recognized  Jumbo  ap  her  own  property.  Ten  years  before 
she  had  made  him  and  sent  him  to  England,  as  she  sup- 
posed, to  her  daughter  who  had  married  a  man  named  Link 
— hence  the  design  of  the  English  and  American  flags 
linked  together. 

At  Christmas  time  thousands  and  thousands  of  mis- 
directed and  unclaimed  gifts  find  their  way  into  the  Dead- 
Letter  Office  —  so  many  little  tokens  of  love  or  remem- 
brance which  fail  to  carry  their  message.  Imaginative 
minds  may  weave  curious  romances  around  almost  any  one 
of  these  lost  articles. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  DAY  IN  THE  PATENT-OFFICE  —  A  PALACE  OF  AMERICAN 

INVENTIVE  GENIUS  AND  SKILL  — CRAZY  INVENTORS-' 

FREAKS  AND  THEIR  PATENTS. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  and  Its  Functions  —  The  Patent-Office  — 
Issuing  One  Hundred  Patents  a  Day  —  Abraham  Lincoln's  Patent  — 
How  To  Secure  a  Patent  —  Patent  Attorneys  and  How  They  Obtain  Big 
Fees  —  Hesitating  To  Accept  a  Million  Dollars  —  What  Is  a  Patent  ? — 
A  Minister  Who  Discovered  "Perpetual  Motion"  —Preposterous  Let- 
ters and  Odd  Inventions  —  A  Dead  Baby  Used  as  a  "Model" — A 
Patent  for  Fishing  Worms  out  of  the  Human  Stomach  —  A  Patent  for 
Exterminating  Lions  and  Tigers  by  the  Use  of  Catmint  —  Killing  Grass- 
Hoppers  with  Artillery — Crazy  Inventors  —  Freaks  and  Their  Patents  — 
A  Patent  for  a  Cow-Tail  Holder  —  Eccentric  Letters  —  Amusing  Speci- 
mens of  Correspondence  —  A  Cat  and  Rat  Scarer  —  Great  Fortunes 
from  Little  Inventions. 


'ARCH  3,  1849,  Congress  passed  an  act  to  estab- 
lish the  Home  Department,  and  enacted  that 
said  new  executive  branch  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  should  be  called  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  that  the  head  of  said  depart- 
ment should  be  called  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and 
that  the  Secretary  should  be  placed  upon  the  same  plane 
with  other  Cabinet  officers. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  covers  a  multitude  of 
governmental  functions  having  nothing  in  common,  except 
that  they  fall  within  "the  interior"  of  a  great  and  diversified 
country.  Its  main  duties  are  the  supervision  of  the  General 
Land  Office ;  of  the  Patent-Office ;  of  the  Pension  Bureau ; 
of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs ;  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  j 

(349) 


350  A  DEPARTMENT  ALWAYS  EXPANDING. 

of  the  Bureau  of  Kailroads ;  of  the  Census ;  of  the  Geological 
Survey ;  of  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol ;  of  the  Yellowstone. 
National  Park ;  and  always  of  a  variety  of  lesser  and  often 
ephemeral  affairs,  like  the  Hot  Springs  Reservation  of  Arkan- 
sas, the  Nicaragua  Canal,  and  almost  any  kind  of  a  commission 
which  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  establish  for  getting 
things  off  its  hands.  In  fact  the  Department  of  the  Interior  is 
supposed  to  be  capable  of  absorbing  anything  which  can  not 
be  naturally  absorbed  elsewhere,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  is  sometimes  facetiously  dubbed  the  Jack-of-all- 
Trades  of  the  Cabinet. 

The  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  in  the  build- 
ing which  is  popularly  known  as  the  Patent-Office.  The 
Bureau  of  Patents  is  the  largest  branch  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  and  is  so  important  that  it  is  almost  a  sepa- 
rate department,  as,  indeed,  it  ought  to  be;  for  this  is  the 
bureau  of  the  government  which  more  than  any  other  is 
always  expanding.  It  is  intrusted  with  the  duty  of  grant- 
ing letters-patent,  securing  to  the  inventor  or  discoverer, 
for  the  term  of  seventeen  years,  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
article  patented.  A  "  patented  "  article  is  one  for  which 
"  letters-patent "  have  been  issued  by  the  government  to 
the  inventor.  They  are  called  "  letters  "  because  they  are 
open  messages,  addressed  to  the  public,  and  "patent" 
because  they  are  supposed  to  be  known  by  all. 

Patents  are  not,  as  some  persons  suppose,  monopolies, 
but  are  protections  granted  to  individuals  as  rewards  for, 
and  incentives  to,  discoveries  and  inventions  of  all  kinds  per- 
taining to  science  and  the  useful  arts. 

The  federal  government  was  not  many  days  old  when 
Jefferson  made  plans  for  a  Patent-Office.  Having  inspired 
the  act  of  1Y90  which  established  it,  he  made  it  a  part  of  the 
Department  of  State  of  which  he  was  the  head,  taking  so 
much  pride  in  its  operation  that  he  practically  did  the  work 
himself.  After  personally  examining  each  application,  it 


"  POT-  AND  PEARL-ASHES,    CANDLES,    AND  MEAL,  "      351 

was  his  custom  to  call  in  Henry  Knox  of  Massachusetts,  the 
Secretary  of  "War,  and  Edmund  Eandolph  of  Virginia,  the 
Attorney-General  in  Washington's  cabinet,  who,  with  the 
Secretary  of  State,  were  by  law  constituted  a  tribunal  to 
pass  upon  such  applications.  These  three  distinguished  pa- 
triots examined  them  critically,  scrutinizing  each  portion  of 
the  specification  and  claims  carefully  and  rigorously;  for 
Jefferson's  idea  was  that  patents  should  not  be  granted  for 
devices  or  processes  because  they  were  new,  simply,  but 
because  they  were  useful. 

The  result  of  this  ruling  was  that  very  few  applications 
passed  the  severe  ordeal,  and  but  three  were  granted  the 
first  year  —  the  first  for  "  making  pot-  and  pearl-ashes  " ;  the 
second  for  "manufacturing  candles";  and  the  third  for 
"  manufacturing  flour  and  meal."  We  may  imagine  with 
what  grave  concern  men  who  could  write  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  play  important  parts  in  the  establishment 
of  a  government  under  that  constitution  which  was  in  part 
the  work  of  their  hands,  scrutinized,  as  affairs  of  state,  new 
processes  for  making  pot-  and  pearl-ashes,  candles,  and  meal. 
Certainly  they  did  not  foresee  the  possibilities  of  a  system 
under  which,  in  a  hundred  years,  about  500  patents  would 
be  issued  every  week  in  the  year. 

The  rigorous  test  to  which  Jefferson  submitted  applica- 
tions aroused  more  and  more  opposition  with  each  unsuc- 
cessful inventor,  and  in  1793  the  law  was  somewhat  liberal- 
ized in  spite  of  his  protests  that  it  would  tend  to  the  creation 
of  monopolies.  But  the  affairs  of  the  office  were  managed 
after  his  ideas  for  many  years,  very  few  patents  being 
granted.  Some  of  these  were  genuine  curiosities,  judging 
from  such  an  entry  as  this  in  the  report  of  the  Patent-Office 
for  1802 :  "  Machine  for  Raising  Water  ( !  !  !  a  perpetual 
motion !  !  ! ) "  Whether  this  parenthetical  array  of  exclama- 
tion points  was  inserted  by  the  hand  of  Jefferson,  or  of  Mad- 
ison, then  Secretary  of  State,  the  curious  will  never  know. 


352  AN  EXCITED  AND  INDIGNANT  DOCTOR. 

In  1810  the  office  was  removed  from  its  little  desk  with 
a  few  humble  pigeon-holes  at  the  State  Department  to  a 
building  of  its  own,  previously  known  as  Blodgett's  hotel, 
and  it  was  provided  with  a  head  called  the  "  Keeper  of  the 
Patents."  This  individual  was  no  other  than  our  old  friend 
Dr.  Thornton,  he  who  many  years  before  had  submitted  an 
original  sketch  of  a  plan  for  the  Capitol  which  had  "  capti- 
vated the  eyes  and  judgment "  of  Jefferson.  Jefferson  now 
placed  him  in  charge  of  the  work  pertaining  to  patents.  To 
Thornton  the  patent  business  was  a  hobby,  and  his  ideas 
corresponded  exactly  with  Jefferson's.  His  wife  was  one  of 
the  ornaments  of  the  society  of  the  new  Capital  city.  She 
was  a  teacher  in  Philadelphia  when  he  married  her.  After 
her  death  it  became  known  that  her  father  was  the  famous 
Dr.  Dodd,  executed  in  London  for  forging  a  Bank  of  Eng 
land  note — a  fact  mercifully  concealed  from  her  by  her 
mother,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  America  under  an  assumed 
name.  When,  in  the  war  of  1812,  the  British,  who  had 
entered  Washington,  trained  their  cannon  on  the  Patent- 
Office^  Thornton,  it  is  said,  threw  himself  before  the  guns 
and  shouted : 

"  Are  you  Englishmen,  or  Goths,  or  Vandals  ?  This  is 
the  Patent-Office,  a  depository  of  the  ingenuity  and  inven- 
tions of  the  American  nation,  in  which  the  whole  civilized 
world  is  interested.  Would  you  destroy  it  ?  Then  let  the 
charge  pass  through  my  body ! " 

A  severe  thunder  storm  opportunely  helping  Dr.  Thornton 
out,  the  building  was  spared ;  so  was  the  doctor,  who  was  the 
autocrat  of  the  office  till  his  death  in  1827,  soon  after  which 
it  was  found  that  the  accounts  were  in  great  confusion  and 
there  was  an  unexplained  absence  of  drawings  and  models. 
The  results  of  the  Congressional  investigation  which  fol- 
lowed indicated  that  the  doctor's  chief  fault  was  in  carrying 
the  office  too  much  in  his  head ;  and,  as  it  turned  out,  it 
would  have  made  little  difference  had  everything  been  intel- 


THE  LOSS  OF  PRICELESS  MODELS.  353 

ligible  and  in  order,  for,  though  the  British  had  spared  it,  a 
fire  completely  wiped  it  out  in  1836.  Thus  practically  little 
is  known  of  the  exact  nature  of  most  of  these  early  patents 
except  the  titles  given  them  in  the  reports  to  Congress  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  though  some  of  the  drawings  and 
models  were  restored  through  correspondence  with  inventors. 
About  seven  thousand  models  were  lost,  and  many  of  them 
would  be  worth  their  weight  in  gold  to-day  as  relics.  One 
of  the  losses  was  a  volume  of  drawings,  elegantly  executed 
by  Robert  Fulton's  own  hands,  delineating  the  machinery  he 
employed,  and  containing  three  pictures  of  his  steamboat 
making  its  triumphant  voyage  on  the  Hudson. 

This  calamity  fully  awakened  Congress  to  the  necessity 
of  adequately  and  safely  housing  the  Patent-Office ;  and  the 
lawful  fees  for  issuing  patents  having  accumulated  into  a 
considerable  fund,  Congress  added  an  appropriation,  and  di- 
rected that  the  whole  amount  should  be  invested  in  a  new 
building  to  be  called  the  Patent-Office. 

From  that  double  fund  arose  one  of  the  most  august 
buildings  in  Washington.  Occupying  an  entire  public 
square,  it  may  be  approached  from  four  opposite  directions, 
and  on  each  side  you  lift  your  eyes  to  four  majestic  porticoes 
towering  before  you.  They  are  supported  by  double  rows 
of  Doric  columns,  eighteen  feet  in  circumference,  and  thirty 
feet  high.  The  entire  building  is  of  pure  Doric  architecture, 
strong,  simple,  and  yet  magnificent.  Its  southern  front  is 
modeled  after  that  of  the  Parthenon  at  Athens. 

It  was  supposed  that  this  imposing  edifice  would  be  ade- 
quate for  all  purposes  for  many  years,  but,  a  new  and  more 
systematic  patent  law  having  been  passed  in  1836,  the 
growth  of  the  business  became  so  rapid  that  the  models 
were  quickly  crowding  out  everything  else,  and  the  Seventh 
street  wing  was  built  and  occupied  in  1852.  This  was  at 
once  followed  by  the  erection  of  the  corresponding  Ninth 
street  wing,  and  the  quadrangle  was  completed  by  the  Q 


354  WHERE  RECORDS  OF  PATENTS  ARE  STORED. 

street  extension  in  1867,  the  whole  expense  up  to  that  time 
being  $3,000,000.  Alterations  since  then  have  cost  $2,000,000 
more.  How  different  the  Patent-Office  is  from  a  modern 
office  building  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that,  covering 
nearly  three  acres,  it  is  but  three  stories  high  ;  with  a  thou- 
sand people  working  under  its  roof,  it  has  but  a  single  ele- 
vator for  the  accommodation  of  the  employees  and  extensive 
business  of  the  whole  department. 

Not  many  years  ago,  when  entering  the  building,  the 
visitor  found  himself  in  a  magnificent  hall.  Here  were 
many  models  of  famous  inventions,  and  various  objects  of 
great  historic  interest,  including  priceless  relics  of  Washing- 
ton, Jackson,  and  many  others,  which  have  since  been  re- 
moved to  the  National  Museum.  The  great  halls  have  been 
partitioned  off  into  offices  where  the  ever-growing  army  of 
officials  and  clerks  work,  while  in  the  wide  corridors  extend- 
ing around  the  four  sides  of  the  building,  where  once, 
secured  in  glass  cases,  were  exquisite  miniature  models  of 
almost  every  description  —  pianos,  sewing  machines,  plows, 
bedsteads,  engines,  locomotives,  guns,  and  cannons  —  can 
now  be  seen  but  a  poor  remnant  of  this  vast  collection. 
In  their  places  are  racks  and  pigeon-holes  filled  with  copies 
of  patents  and  other  papers.  .Everywhere  there  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  overflow,  a  deluge  of  files.  In  some  of  the 
main  divisions  extend  long  canons  of  towering  file  racks,  all 
stuffed  with  edge-worn  papers.  Patents,  patents  every- 
where, and  all  on  paper.  Each  .division,  having  its  own  par- 
ticular duties,  has  its  own  files  of  patents,  while  in  the  file 
room,  each  in  its  properly-endorsed  cover,  is  the  history  in  a 
nutshell  of  every  one  of  the  650,000  and  more  patents  which 
have  been  granted,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  older 
ones  which  were  destroyed. 

Among  the  treasures  of  the  building  is  the  greatest 
technical  library  in  the  world  —  a  library  of  nearly  100,000 
volumes,  many  of  them  exceedingly  rare  and  valuable. 


WHEN  AND   HOW   PATENTS   ARE  ISSUED.  355 

The  Patent-Office  has  never  been  an  expense  to  the  govern- 
ment. It  is  the  only  self-supporting  bureau,  and  annually 
turns  in  a  large  sum  to  the  treasury  from  its  excess  of 
receipts  over  expenditures.  Its  revenues  are  derived  largely 
from  patent  fees,  and  sales  of  copies  of  patents  or  files.  The 
Official  Gazette^  a  bulky  pamphlet  published  weekly  and 
furnishing  the  claims  of  patents  with  a  figure  from  the 
drawings,  is  invaluable  to  investors  and  all  interested  in 
patents  and  in  manufacture.  Patents  are  issued  every 
Tuesday  and,  simultaneously  with  the  announcement  of  the 
patents  granted,  appears  the  Gazette  and  150  copies  of  a 
description  of  each  patent,  to  be  added  to  the  archives  and 
to  the  stock  for  sale. 

As  the  work  of  the  department  grew,  the  demand  for 
more  room  increased.  The  models  were  carried  from  time  to 
time  cross  the  street  and  stored  in  the  attic  of  the  old  Post- 
Office  Department  building;  and  when,  several  years  ago, 
the  issue  of  patents  had  grown  to  upwards  of  a  hundred 
a  day,  and  it  was  apparent  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
find  a  place  for  the  models  within  the  city  limits,  the  patent 
law  was  changed  and  a  model  is  now  no  longer  an  essential 
of  an  application  for  a  patent.  Instead,  it  is  required  that 
sufficient  drawings  shall  be  furnished  to  illustrate  clearly 
and  adequately  each  feature  in  the  article  for  which  a 
patent  is  claimed.  Some  intricate  patents  are  accompanied 
with  from  ten  to  twenty  and  even  thirty  pages  of  elaborate 
drawings.  Every  original  patent  is ,  photo-lithographed 
and  duplicate  copies  can  be  obtained  for  five  cents  each. 
The  vast  and  constantly -increasing  number  of  printed 
copies  are  kept  by  classes  and  sub-classes,  and  the  inventor 
has  but  to  give  the  number  of  a  patent  he  wishes  to 
examine,  and  an  illustrated  description  of  it  can  be 
furnished  him  at  once.  A  force  of  clerks  is  constantly  busy 
filling  such  orders,  which  come  from  all  over  the  world. 

In  1877,  the  great  building,  popularly  supposed  to  be 


356  A  MODEL  MADE  BY  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

fire  proof,  again  suffered  from  a  conflagration,  and  although 
only  the  west  wing  was  consumed,  87,000  models  and 
nearly  600,000  drawings  were  destroyed,  for  they  were  then 
kept  largely  in  that  wing  in  four  grand  halls  opening  into 
each  other  and  affording  a  promenade  of  about  one-fourth 
of  a  mile.  The  only  models  saved  were  a  few  still  kept 
in  the  Hall  of  Models  on  the  main  floor,  and  those  stored 
across  the  street  in  the  old  Post-Office  building.  Many  of 
the  historical  relics  and  curiosities  have  been  removed  to 
the  National  Museum. 

Among  the  models  there  preserved,  is  one  roughly 
executed,  representing  the  frame-work  of  the  hull  of  a 
Western  steamboat.  Beneath  the  keel  is  a  false  bottom, 
provided  with  bellows  and  air-bags.  The  ticket  upon  it 
bears  the  memorandum,  "  Model  of  sinking  and  raising  boats 
by  bellows  below.  A.  Lincoln,  May  30, 1849." 

By  means  of  this  arrangement,  Mr.  Lincoln  hoped  to 
solve  the  difficulty  of  passing  boats  over  sand-bars  in  the 
"Western  rivers.  The  success  of  his  scheme  would  have 
made  him  independently  wealthy,  but  it  failed,  and,  twelve 
years  later,  he  became  President  of  the  United  States. 
During  the  interval,  the  model  lay  forgotten  in  the  Patent- 
Office,  but,  after  his  inauguration,  Mr.  Lincoln  got  one 
of  the  employees  to  find  it  for  him. 

The  issue  of  patents  now  numbers  nearly  500  a  week, 
and  is  continually  on  the  increase.  Clearly,  American 
ingenuity,  far  from  being  exhausted,  is  ever  developing.  In 
theory  or  in  law,  anyone  can  take  out  a  patent  upon  any- 
thing new  and  useful ;  in  practice  he  may  if  it  is  simply 
new,  for  the  question  of  utility  is  seldom  raised.  Thousands 
of  patents  prove  to  be  of  no  practical  use  whatever,  but  it  is 
always  difficult  to  judge  of  the  possibilities  in  this  direction ; 
for  while  a  patent  may  fall  flat  when  issued,  it  may  in  the 
course  of  events,  suddenly  become  of  great  value. 

While  it  is  difficult  to  judge  of  what  may  eventually 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  SECURING  A  PATENT.  357 

become  useful,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine  whether  an 
invention  is  actually  a  novelty.  The  inventor  who  either 
stumbles  upon  or  develops  something  which  is  new  to  him, 
is  inclined  to  think  that  he  has  made  a  discovery.  He 
wants  a  patent  and  he  expects  to  become  rich.  If  he  has 
had  no  previous  experience,  the  chances  are  that  he  has  no 
knowledge  of  the  devious  path  his  application  must  pursue.. 
He  can  receive  from  the  Patent-Office,  for  the  asking,  the 
official  book  of  instructions  telling  him  how  to  prepare  his 
application,  the  size  of  his  drawings,  the  particular  card- 
board to  be  used,  the  method  of  stating  the  nature  of  his 
invention,  the  specifications  and  the  claims,  the  latter  con- 
stituting the  vital  part  of  a  patent ;  but,  if  he  is  wise,  he  will 
place  his  case  in  the  hands  of  an  attorney,  and  if  wiser  still 
he  will  place  it  in  the  hands  of  a  good  one,  for  there  are 
attorneys  and  attorneys.  Some  will  lead  him  on  only  to 
get  his  fee ;  others  will  tell  him  honestly  whether  his  idea 
is  of  any  value,  though  if  they  tell  him  it  is  worthless,  he 
will  probably  go  to-  another  ready  to  tell  him  that  it  really 
is  a  great  thing. 

In  any  case,  the  first  step  is  a  preliminary  search 
through  the  patents  in  that  particular  class  or  sub-class 
in  which  a  record  of  such  patents  ought  to  be  found.  Such 
a  search  may  lead  into  several  classes,  but  in  any  event  it  is 
superficial.  It  may  be  found  that  the  device  is  partly  new 
and  partly  old,  in  which  case  the  claims  must  be  modified 
to  include  only  the  new,  or  by  the  introduction  of  some 
additional  device  to  escape  something  already  patented. 

The  drawings  are  made  according  to  the  modified  claims 
and  the  applications  filed,  the  office  giving  it  a  service 
number  so  that  it  may  be  taken  up  in  regular  course.  It  is 
then  turned  over  to  the  examiner  in  the  proper  division. 
Having  been  delving  in  this  particular  line  of  invention  for 
years,  not  only  keeping  informed  of  patents  in  this  country 
but  of  those  abroad,  reading  trade  papers  and  scientific 


358  STEALING  INTO  THE  PATENT-OFFICE. 

literature  wherein  ideas  are  suggested  but  never  patented, 
these  examiners,  and  their  assistants  in  the  various  sub- 
classes, are  supposed  to  find  every  evidence  of  prior  inven- 
tion or  suggestion  either  as  a  whole  or  in  its  minutest  parts. 
It  may  be  found,  for  example,  that  some  little  detail  in  the 
proposed  device  has  been  patented  on  a  machine  in  no  way 
akin  to  the  one  in  hand.  Some  little  thing  in  a  washing 
machine  patent  might  spoil  a  new  idea  for  a  sewing 
machine,  or  a  loom,  or  a  corn-sheller.  Whatever  the  exam- 
iner finds  in  the  way  of  priority,  either  clear  or  question- 
able, is  cited  as  reference  against  the  application  and  turned 
over  to  the  board  finally  passing  upon  it.  The  inventor 
may  nnd  to  his  sorrow  that  the  idea  on  which  he  has  based 
his  fond  expectations  has  withered  away  to  a  thing  of  little 
value. 

Every  inventor  supposes  that  he  has  a  fortune  in  every 
conception  that  he  puts  into  wood  and  iron.  Stealing 
tremblingly  and  furtively  up  the  steps  of  the  Patent-Office, 
with  his  model  concealed  under  his  coat,  lest  some  sharper 
shall  see  it  and  rob  him  of  his  darling  idea,  he  hopes 
to  come  down  those  steps  with  the  precious  parchment  that 
shall  insure  him  a  present  competency  and  enrich  his 
children.  If  in  the  first  flush  of  his  triumph  he  were  offered  a 
million  dollars,  he  would  hesitate  about  touching  it  without 
sleeping  over  the  proposition  for  a  night.  No  commission 
could  satisfy  him,  and  no  ordinary  price  would  take  the  place 
of  the  hope  of  unlimited  wealth  which  has  lightened  his 
toil. 

Yet,  with  so  many  diffculties  to  be  overcome,  the  govern- 
ment is  now  granting  nearly  one  hundred  patents  a  day. 
It  should  be  said  that  it  is  not  essential  that  every  particu- 
lar part  in  a  device  should  be  new ;  a  new  combination  of 
old  parts  is  a  patentable  novelty.  Furthermore,  nearly 
all  patents  are  improvements.  A  man  can  patent  an 
improvement  on  another's  invention,  as  has  been  done  over 


DREAMS  AND  DELUSIONS  OF  INVENTORS.  359 

and  over  again.  "Interferences,"  where  two  inventors 
have  made  applications  for  practically  the  same  thing,  are 
always  to  be  dealt  with,  and  they  are  eventually  decided  by 
the  Commissioner  on  the  evidence  as  to  who  actually  had 
the  idea  first.  The  inventor  is  also  protected  under  what  is 
called  the  caveat  system,  whereby  on  a  payment  of  a  small 
fee  he  may  file  a  description  of  a  proposed  invention 
and  secure  its  protection  for  a  period  enabling  him  to 
perfect  it. 

Patent  law  and  practice  are  unsurpassed  for  perplexing 
intricacy,  and  taking  this  into  account,  together  with  the 
fact  that  he  must  evade  nearly  700,000  patents  in  this  coun- 
try and  as  many  more  abroad,  the  inventor  can  never  be 
quite  sure  what  the  result  of  his  application  will  be.  The 
work  of  years  may  result  in  nothing,  while  he  sorrowfully 
beholds  a  woman  making  a  fortune  out  of  a  patent  on  a 
paper  bag,  and  a  man  becoming  a  millionaire  out  of  a 
patent  granted  for  attaching  a  little  ball  to  an  elastic  string. 

In  no  other  position  in  the  world  than  that  of  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  probably,  could  a  man  discover  how  many 
crazy  people  there  are  outside  of  the  lunatic  asylum.  The 
born  inventor  is  always  a  dreamer.  For  the  sake  of  his  dar- 
ling thought,  he  is  willing  to  sacrifice  himself,  his  wife,  and 
children,  everything  but  the  "machine"  growing  in  his 
brain  and  quickening  under  his  eager  hand.  How  often 
they  fail!  How  often  the  precious  idea,  developed  into 
form,  is  only  a  mistake  —  a  failure ! 

Sometimes  this  is  sad  —  quite  as  often  it  is  funny.  The 
procession  which  started,  far  back  in  the  ages,  with  its 
machine  of  "Perpetual  Motion,"  long  ago  reached  the 
doors  of  the  American  Patent-Office.  The  persons  found 
in  that  procession  are  sometimes  astonishing.  A  well- 
known  doctor  of  divinity,  not  suspected  of  studying  any 
machinery  but  that  of  the  moral  law,  appeared  one  day  in 

the  office  of  the  Commissioner. 
20 


360  DISAPPOINTED  PATENT  SEEKERS. 

"  I  know  I've  got  it ! "  he  said. 

"What,  sir?" 

"  Perpetual  motion,  sir.  Look ! "  and  he  set  down  a 
little  machine.  "  If  the  floor  were  not  in  the  way,  if  the 
earth  were  not  in  the  way,  that  weight  would  never  stop, 
and  my  machine  would  go  on  forever.  I  know  this  is  origi- 
nal with  me  —  that  it  never  dawned  before  upon  any  other 
human  mind." 

So  enthusiastic  was  the  doctor,  it  was  with  difficulty  he 
could  be  restrained  from  depositing  the  Patent-Office  fee 
and  leaving  his  experiment  to  be  patented:  The  Commis- 
sioner quietly  sent  to  the  library  for  a  book  —  a  history  of 
attempts  to  create  perpetual  motion.  Opening  at  a  certain 
page,  he  pointed  out  to  the  astonished  would-be  inventor 
where  his  own  machine  had  been  attempted,  and  failed, 
more  than  a  hundred  years  before.  The  reverend  doctor 
took  the  book  home,  read,  digested,  and  meditated  thereon 
—  to  bring  it  back  and  lay  it  down  before  the  Commis- 
sioner in  silence. 

It  would  take  a  large  volume  to  record  all  the  prepos- 
terous letters  and  inventions  received  at  the  Patent-Office. 
A  man  once  sent  a  letter  describing  a  new  process  of  em- 
balming which  he  had  originated.  It  was  accompanied 
by  a  dead  baby  —  "the  model"  —  which  he  requested 
should  be  placed  in  one  of  the  glass  cases  of  the  Exhibition- 
Eoom.  He  considered  himself  deeply  injured  when  his 
request  was  refused.  Among  the  most  remarkable  inven- 
tions is  a  machine  to  force  a  hen  to  lay  eggs,  and  a  silver 
worm-hook,  which,  it  was  claimed,  when  baited  with  a 
seductive  pill,  would  remove  worms  from  the  human 
stomach. 

The  Commissioner  once  received  the  following  commu- 
nication from  the  Legation  of  the  United  States  in  Paris : 

"  SIR  :  —  A  very  large  number  of  inventions  and  discov- 
eries are  submitted  to  this  Legation,  with  the  request  that 


SOME  ODD  APPLICATIONS  FOR  PATENTS.  361 

we  shall  transmit  them  to  Washington.  Most  of  them  are, 
as  you  may  suppose,  worthless.  We  have  had,  for  instance, 
serious  plans  proposed  for  the  extermination  of  all  the  lions 
and  tigers  in  the  United  States  by  the  use  of  catmint,  the 
modus  operandi  being  to  dig  an  immense  pit,  and  fill  it  with 
this  herb.  The  well-known  love  of  the  feline  race  for  cat- 
mint will  naturally  induce  the  lions  and  tigers  to  jump  into 
the  pit  and  roll  themselves  upon  it ;  whereupon  concealed 
hunters  are  to  appear  and  slaughter  the  ferocious  animals. 

"Another  plan  is  for  the  destruction  of  grasshoppers 
upon  the  plains  by  the  use  of  artillery ;  it  being  perfectly 
well  known  that  concussion  kills  insects. 

"  A  third  is  for  the  capture  of  a  besieged  city  by  the  use 
of  a  bomb  which,  upon  exploding,  shall  emit  so  foul  a  smell 
that  the  besieged  will  rush  headlong  from  the  walls,  and 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  besiegers." 

The  President  of  the  United  States  receives  many  letters 
of  like  character,  which  are  by  him  transmitted  to  the 
Bureau  of  Patents.  The  following  are  verbatim  copies 
(including  orthography)  of  letters  which  represent  thou- 
sands more  of  equal  intelligence  received  at  this  depart- 
ment of  the  government. 

"  Sir  it  is  with  pleasure  I  take  this  opportunity  Of  writ- 
ing to  You  I  Am  well  at  Present  Hoping  those  few  lines 
will  find  you  enjoying  Good  health  And  prosperity  I  am 
doing  all  I  can  for  you  in  this  locality  and  I  hope  and 
expect  you  will  be  our  next  President  Of  the  United  States 
I  would  like  to  have  an  Office  of  Siveliseing  the  Indians 
What  Salary  will  you  give  me  per  Annum  please  Write  to 
me  and  let  me  no  in  fact  I  am  in  need  of  A  little  money  at 
present  Will  you  please  send  me  600  or  1000  dolors  to 
—  Sumthing  Aught  to  be  done  for  the  poor  Indean 
And  I  beleave  that  I  can  sivelise  them.  If  you  will  give  me 
200  or  300  per  month  it  will  doo." 

"  HON  FRIEND  —  Solicitor  of  Patents  I  have  invented  a 
secret  form  of  writing  expressly  for  the  use  of  our  gov  in 
time  of  warfare  the  publick  demands  it,  It  is  different  from 
any  other  invention  known  to  the  publick  in  this  or  any 
gov.  It  consists  simply  of  the  English  alphabet  and  can  be 
changed  to  any  form  that  the  safety  of  our  gov.  demands  it 
no  higherglyphicks  are  employed  but  it  is  practical  and  safe 


362  A  MAN  OF  MANY  IDEAS. 

I  propose  to  sell  it  to  our  gov  for  the  sum  of  one  million 
dollars  I  will  meet  any  committee  appointed  to  investigate 
the  matter.  If  you  will  give  me  your  influence  in  Congress 
and  aid  in  bringing  a  sale  of  the  invention  about  to  our  gov 
or  any  other  I  will  reward  you  with  the  sum  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  ($10,000)  It  is  no  illusion  or  a  whim  of  the 
brain  but  is  what  I  represent  it  to  be  scientific  practicable 
and  safe,  Wishing  to  hear  from  you  on  the  subject  I 


Only  recently  a  man  in  Michigan  acknowledged  receipt 
of  information  sent  by  the  bureau  at  his  request,  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter :  — 

"  HONOURABLE  SIR  :  I  am  much  gratified  for  the  kind 
information  you  sent  me.  But  when  i  peruised  it  i  found  i 
could  not  proceed  on  account  of  my  Sircumstances.  I  am 
here  as  an  exile  far  from  home  and  without  money  though  i 
own  a  farm  of  220  eacres  of  land  in—  —Co.  Michigan, 
but  had  to  fly  like  the  lark  from  the  field  of  wheat  for  fear 
of  my  life  by  a  frantic  scolding  wife.  I  Sought  Peace  and 
found  it  thanks  be  to  providence. 

"  I  have  a  great  many  ideas  of  improvements  in  many  a 
buisnes  especialy  in  fire  Scapes  from  high  buildings  which 
is  grately  kneeded,  though  i  am  no  machanic  i  can  instruct 
many  a  man  in  his  buisnes. 

"  But  money  makes  the  mare  go  which  leaves  my  mare 
to  totter  fall  and  die  it  is  said  and  is  true  their  is  manny  a 
Socratus  in  the  hands  of  a  Plow  and  many  a  Uleses  herding 
Sheep." 

Occasionally  a  freakish  idea  may  have  value;  but  the 
absurd  devices  of  crazy  inventors  who  have  filed  applica- 
tions for  wonderful  inventions  are  legion.  A  milkman 
conceived  the  idea  of  a  cow-tail  holder,  and  there  appears 
in  the  archives  of  the  Patent-Office,  a  patent  with  drawings 
showing  a  clamp  like  a  clothespin  for  fastening  the  ani- 
mal's tail  to  its  leg  or  to  the  milking-stool.  But  though 
the  inventor  secured  his  patent  he  found  that  there  were 
dozens  of  patents  for  cow-tail  holders,  and  that  there  was 
no  demand  for  cow-tail  holders,  anyway.  Another  man 
who  evidently  had  an  uneasy  bed-fellow,  invented  a  clamp 


EXTRAORDINARY  AND   USELESS  INVENTIONS.  353 

and  spring  attachment  for  fastening  the  bedclothes  to 
the  bedstead.  A  "combination  inkstand,  pistol  case,  and 
alarm " ;  a  fan  attachment  for  rocking-chairs,  the  rocking 
motion  revolving  the  fan;  an  automatic  egg-boiler,  with 
mechanism  so  adjusted  as  to  raise  the  eggs  out  of  the  water 
at  the  expiration  of  the  proper  time ;  a  wire  device  to  be 
attached  to  hens'  legs  to  keep  them  from  scratching ;  and 
thousands  of  other  comical  inventions  are  classified  and 
housed  in  this  great  -granite  building. 

Some  extraordinary  cranks  turn  up  at  the  Patent-Office. 
They  hail  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Their  errand  is 
often  proclaimed  in  their  unkempt  appearance,  in  their 
secretive  and  confidential  manner,  and  above  all  in  their 
great  and  mysterious  inventions.  The  Patent-Office 
becomes  to  them  either  their  bosom  confidant  and  inspi- 
ration or  their  deadly  enemy,  according  to  the  verdict  on 
their  new  ideas.  Should  they  invent  a  new  and  useful 
manner  of  shooing  flies,  or  scaring  cats  and  rats,  it  is 
bound,  in  their  opinion,  to  be  of  vital  importance  to  the 
universe  and  redound  to  the  everlasting  glory  and  fortune 
of  the  inventor. 

Some  time  ago,  a  man  long  past  middle  life,  wearing  a 
Father  Time  beard  and  huge  spectacles,  a  high,  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  and  a  long  black  clerical  coat,  entered  the 
office,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  first  official  he  met 
earnestly  said :  "  Sir,  I  have  made  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able discoveries  that  has  ever  been  made  :  I  have  invented  a 
tobacco-quid  protector,  sir,  by  which  tobacco  may  be  kept 
in  the  mouth  without  spitting,  sir,  and  by  which  the  quid 
may  be  preserved  for  any  length  of  time  without  spoiling, 
sir.  Saves  money,  saves  health,  saves  morals."  "Where- 
upon he  produced  a  box  made  of  pine  wood  and  shaped  like 
an  oyster  shell.  He  desired  drawings  to  be  made  of  it,  and 
the  facts  published,  and  was  indignant  and  disgusted 
because  his  request  was  not  granted. 


364 

A  man  from  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  one  day  tip-toed 
in  very  quietly  and  confidentially,  and  laying  his  sun- 
browned  hat  on  top  of  one  of  the  desks,  clasped  his  hands 
and  said :  "  I  am  from  Bay  City,  and  I  have  made  a  most 
valuable  discovery."  His  "  discovery  "  consisted  of  a  clock 
alarm  arranged  in  a  huge  wooden  frame.  From  a  cross 
beam  at  the  top  a  rope  dangled,  to  which  a  heavy  iron 
weight  was  attached  and  so  arranged  as  to  be  easily  de- 
tached and  fall  into  a  tin  pan  placed  below.  The  whole 
device  was  designed  to  make  a  great  noise  for  the  purpose 
of  scaring  cats  away  from  pans  of  milk. 

Another  applicant,  who  was  evidently  addicted  to  grati- 
fying his  taste  for  strong  drink  surreptitiously,  wanted  a 
patent  for  a  novel  liquor  flask,  and  strange  to  say,  his 
device  was  actually  patented.  It  consisted  in  making  the 
outer  covering  of  the  flask  in  the  form  of  a  book,  marked 
"  Legal  Decisions."  The  book  was  large  enough  to  cover 
the  bottle,  including  the  neck  and  stopper.  The  book  had  a 
concealed  hole  beneath  the  bottom  of  the  flask,  so  that  the 
flask  could  be  pushed  upward  and  the  neck  would  project 
through  another  concealed  hole  at  the  top. 

It  is  estimated  that  about  one  invention  in  twenty -five 
repays  the  cost  of  taking  out  a  patent.  Yet  inventors  as  a 
class  are  sanguine  men,  and  no  knowledge  of  the  enormous 
percentage  of  chances  against  them  will  deter  them  from 
multiplying  ingenious  devices.  Every  one  expects  a  fortune 
from  his  particular  piece  of  mechanism.  Every  one  has 
heard  not  only  of  the  enormous  sums  realized  from  the 
great  inventions  of  the  last  half-century,  but  also  of  the 
large  returns  yielded  by  things  apparently  trifling  which 
have  struck  the  public  fancy  or  met  the  public  need. 

The  toy  called  the  return-ball,  a  small  ball  attached  to 
an  elastic  string,  is  said  to  have  produced  a  profit  of  $50,000 
a  year;  and  the  rubber  tip  on  lead-pencils  has  yielded  a 
competence  to  the  inventor.  More  than  $1,000,000  has 


GREAT  FORTUNES  FROM  SMALL  INVENTIONS.     365 

been  earned  by  the  gimlet-pointed  screw,  the  inventor 
of  which  was  so  poor  that  he  trudged  on  foot  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Washington  to  get  his  patent ;  the  roller-skate 
has  yielded  $1,000,000  after  the  patentee  spent  $125,000  in 
England  fighting  infringements;  the  dancing  Jim  Crow 
is  set  down  for  $75,000,  and  the  copper  tip  for  children's 
shoes  at  $2,000,000 ;  the  spring  window-shade  roller  pays 
$100,000  a  year,  and  the  needle-threader  $10,000  a  year 
From  the  drive-well  $3,000,000  have  been  realized ;  the 
stylographic  pen  is  credited  with  $100,000  a  year;  and 
the  egg-beater,  and  the  rubber  stamp,  with  large  sums. 
These  are  only  a  few  examples  among  hundreds  that  migh; 
be  cited.  No  wonder  inventors  are  hopeful  when  they 
reflect  that  comfort  for  life  and  fortunes  for  their  children 
may  come  from  a  single  fortunate  idea. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

THE  PENSION  BUREAU  -  CLAIMANTS  AND  THEIR  PETITIONS 
—  SNARES  AND  PIT-FALLS  FOR  THE  UNWARY. 

A  Vast  Deluge  of  Pension  Papers  —  Caring  For  a  Million  Pensioners  — 
Disbursing  $132,000,000  a  Year  —  The  "Alarm  Act  "  —  Pension  Laws 
and  Regulations  —  Who  Are  Entitled  to  Pensions  —  Method  of  Pro- 
cedure —  How  Claims  Are  Filed  and  Examined  —  Guarding  the  Rolls 
Against  Fraud  —  Medical  Examinations  —  Disgruntled  Applicants  — 
Suspicious  Cases  and  "Irregular"  Claims — "Widows"  —  Doctors 
Who  Disagree  —  An  Indignant  Captain  —  Living  on  "  Corn-bread  and 
Sour  Milk  "  — Why  Decisions  Are  Delayed  —  Special  Examinations  — 
Guarding  Against  Swindlers,  Imposters,  and  Frauds  —  Claim  Agents 
and  Their  Ways  —  Forging  Evidence  and  Affidavits  —  Pension  Attor- 
neys and  Their  Tricks — "Swapping"  Papers  —  Mean  and  Petty 
Swindlers  — Whom  To  Avoid —Pawning  Pension  Certificates  —  The 
Disabled  Veteran's  Best  Friend  — His  Real  Enemies  —  General  Harri- 
son's Views. 


iEXT  to  the  Patent-Office,  the  Pension  Bureau  is 
the  most  important  branch  in  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  The  expansion  of  its  business  dur- 
ing the  past  few  years  compelled  the  erection  of 
a  special  building  of  large  proportions  to  accommo- 
date the  deluge  of  pension  papers  and  the  army  of 
1,800  busy  men  and  women  through  whose  hands  they  must 
pass.  Most  of  its  interior  consists  of  an  immense  court  broken 
by  two  rows  of  columns,  which  sustain  the  central  part  of  the 
great  roof  of  glais,  while  encircling  galleries  lead  to  the 
numerous  offices  on  every  side.  Inside,  therefore,  the  build- 
ing has  the  appearance  of  more  space  than  contents.  The 
size  of  the  court  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  fully 

(366) 


MORE  THAN  A  MILLION  PENSIONERS.  36? 

20,000  people  crowd  into  it  upon  the  occasion  of  the  inaug. 
ural  balls  which  are  now  held  there, —  a  purpose  not  in  the 
mind  of  the  designer  of  the  structure,  but  a  fortunate  acci- 
dent that  made  a  permanent  and  unequaled  place  for  func- 
tions that  have  become  attractive  features  of  every  inaug- 
uration. 

The  building  is  not  a  work  of  art.  When  General  Sher- 
idan was  looking  it  over,  and  his  guide  proudly  told  him 
that  the  structure  was  perfectly  fire  proof,  he  exclaimed : 
"  What  a  pity !  "  Neither  is  it  an  expensive  building  as  com- 
pared with  others  devoted  to  government  purposes,  plenty 
of  room  and  suitable  conveniences  being  the  objects  desired. 
There  is  one  distinctively  artistic  thing  about  it,  however, 
—  the  ornamental  terra-cotta  frieze  over  the  first-story  win- 
dows, portraying  a  spirited  procession  of  soldiers,  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery ;  and  many  a  veteran  feels  his  pulse 
quicken  as  he  beholds  the  details  of  the  frieze,  reviving 
never-to-be-forgotten  scenes  in  the  great  Civil  War. 

The  Pension  Koll  of  1901  carries  over  a  million  pen- 
sioners, involving  an  expenditure  of  over  $132,000,000.  A 
month  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation  passed  an  act  promising  pensions  to 
those  disabled  in  the  war,  cases  being  adjudged  by  the  State 
legislatures  and  pensions  paid  by  the  states,  which  were 
afterwards  reimbursed  by  the  Federal  government.  In  1818 
a  law  was  passed  pensioning  indigent  men  who  had  served 
in  the  Revolution,  but  the  applications  became  so  numerous 
that  Congress  quickly  passed  the  "  alarm  act, "  requiring  all 
pensioners  on  the  roll  to  furnish  a  schedule  of  the  amount 
of  property  then  in  their  possession.  Pensioners  were 
dropped  who  owned  as  small  an  amount  as  150  dollars 
worth  of  property. 

During  the  development  of  the  Pension  Bureau  so  many 
pension  laws  have  been  enacted  that  pension  legislation  has 
become  an  extremely  difficult  thing  to  master.  It  may  be 


368  INTRACACIES  OF  PENSION  LAWS. 

divided  into  four  general  classes :  —  (1)  That  on  account  of 
the  old  wars  prior  to  1861 ;  (2)  the  so-called  general  laws 
since  1861 ;  (3)  the  act  of  June  27, 1890 ;  (4)  that  on  account 
of  the  War  with  Spain.  The  last  survivor  of  the  Eevolution 
died  over  thirty  years  ago,  but  in  1900  there  still  remained 
on  the  pension  roll  four  widows  and  seven  daughters  of  Rev- 
olutionary soldiers,  the  average  age  of  the  latter  exceeding 
that  of  the  widows.  Only  one  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812 
was  living  in  1900,  but  the  rolls  still  contained  the  names  of 
over  1,700  widows  of  pensioned  soldiers  of  that  war.  The 
survivors  of  the  Mexican  War  in  1900  numbered  8,352  and 
widows  8,151.  As  the  pensioned  soldiers,  widows,  daughters, 
and  minors  on  account  of  the  Civil  War  number  nearly  a 
million,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  pension  business  on  account 
of  previous  wars  is  of  relatively  small  importance. 

Under  the  so-called  general  laws  passed  since  1861,  any 
soldier,  sailor,  or  marine,  disabled  by  reason  of  wound  re- 
ceived or  disease  contracted  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  the  line  of  duty,  may  be  pensioned  for  such 
disability  during  its  continuance,  and  in  case  of  his  death 
from  the  above  causes,  his  widow,  or  his  child  or  children 
under  16  years  of  age,  become  entitled  to  a  pension ;  while, 
if  he  left  no  widow  or  minor,  his  dependent  father,  mother, 
or  orphan  sisters  and  brothers  become  entitled  in  the  order 
named.  This  is  but  a  general  statement  of  the  effect  of  a 
series  of  laws  which  have  had  many  provisos  and  intricacies 
added  from  time  to  time. 

Under  this  act  the  number  of  survivors  entitled  to  pen- 
sions became  well  exhausted  in  1890,  and  Congress  was 
strongly  importuned  to  make  provision  for  the  growing 
army  of  survivors,  who,  though  in  no  way  disabled  during 
service,  were  becoming  for  various  reasons  incapacitated  and 
dependent  largely  as  a  result  of  the  service. 

The  result  was  the  law  of  1890  under  which  any  soldier, 
sailor,  or  marine  who  served  ninety  days  or  more  in  the  mili- 


GUARDING  AGAINST  FRAUDULENT  CLAIMS.  369 

tary  or  naval  service,  was  honorably  discharged,  and  who 
became  a  sufferer  from  disabilities  of  a  permanent  character, 
not  the  result  of  vicious  habits,  thus  rendering  him  unable 
to  earn  his  support,  should  be  entitled  to  a  pension  of  not 
less  than  six  dollars  and  not  more  than  twelve  dollars  a 
month.  Widows  are  entitled  to  like  pension,  provided  they 
had  not  remarried  before  the  passage  of  the  act,  or  if  left 
without  means  except  their  daily  labor.  Army  nurses  who 
were  enrolled  in  the  service  and  served  six  months  and  have 
become  unable  to  earn  a  support  are  also  pensioned.  Be- 
sides these,  Congress  yearly  passes  a  large  number  of  private 
pension  bills  for  those  who  for  various  reasons  cannot  be 
included  under  the  liberal  pension  laws.  Such  pensions  are 
granted  by  special  act,  and  are  not  adjudicated  by  the  Pen- 
sion Bureau. 

The  pension  rates  for  certain  disabilities  are  specified  by 
law  in  a  general  way  and  are  more  particularly  fixed  by  the 
Commissioner  of  Pensions.  They  range  from  two  dollars 
for  the  loss  of  any  one  of  the  smaller  toes  to  a  total  dis- 
ability calling  for  one  hundred  dollars  a  month.  In  fixing 
the  rate  of  pensions,  the  aggregate  of  the  rates  for  particular 
disabilities  is  taken  as  the  pension  rate,  and  under  the  law 
any  one  who  is  pensionable  at  all  shall  receive  at  least  six 

dollars  a  month. 

/\ 

Upon  these  general  features  a  most  complicated  and 
careful  procedure  has  been  built  up  for  the  examination  of 
claims,  which  is  often  much  more  painful  to  the  impatient 
veteran  than  his  disabilities,  but  which  is  absolutely  essential 
to  guard  the  rolls  against  fraud.  The  organization  of  the 
bureau  consists  of  a  commissioner,  two  deputy  commission- 
ers, a  chief  clerk  and  his  assistant,  a  medical  referee  and 
assistant,  a  law  clerk,  a  board  of  review  and  thirteen  divisions, 
each  with  a  chief.  "When  a  claim  is  filed  it  is  stamped  in  the 
Mail  Division,  the  date  being  important  because,  if  a  pension 
is  granted,  under  recent  laws,  it  dates  from  the  time  it  was 


370  WHEN  DOCTORS  DISAGREE. 

filed.  The  Mail  Division,  handles  on  the  average  200,000 
applications  a  year,  and  the  number  of  letters  written  exceeds 
2,000,000  a  year. 

All  claims  based  upon  service  prior  to  1861,  and  all  navy 
claims,  are  sent  to  different  divisions  in  accordance  with 
their  character.  The  first  step  taken  is  to  determine  whether 
the  allegations  of  the  claim  are  sufficient,  if  sustained,  to 
warrant  a  pension  under  the  law,  and  if  they  are,  a  call  is 
made  upon  the  War  Department  for  the  soldier's  record,  all 
such  records  being  carefully  systematized  and  kept  in  the  old 
Ford's  Theater  building.  Upon  the  receipt  and  examination 
of  this  record  the  claimant's  attorney  is  notified  of  any  neces- 
sary evidence  to  complete  the  claim,  while  the  claimant  is 
ordered  for  medical  examination,  the  date  of  every  step  in 
the  procedure  being  endorsed  upon  the  "jacket,"  the  envelope 
in  which  all  papers  relating  to  the  claim  are  kept. 

The  medical  examination  forms  the  basis  of  the  whole 
system.  It  is  performed  by  boards  of  examining  surgeons 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
medical  referee,  the  claimant  usually  being  ordered  before 
the  nearest  one.  The  object  of  the  examination  is  to  obtain 
a  complete  description  of  the  disabilities  for  which  pensions 
are  claimed,  whether  mentioned  by  the  claimant  or  not,  and 
the  pathological  relationship  to  prior  diseases  or  injuries 
must  be  closely  inquired  into,  and  the  conclusions  of  the 
board  must  be  fully  recorded.  It  often  happens  that  a  disa- 
bility is  alleged  which  does  not  exist  at  all,  and  also  that  a 
different  disability  from  that  alleged  is  proven,  much  to  the 
claimant's  surprise.  The  compensation  of  medical  examiners 
is  small,  and  thus,  while  many  may  be  skilled  enough  in 
medicine,  they  may  devote  only  a  superficial  attention  to 
the  pension  business,  getting  through  with  it  as  quickly  as 
possible,  so  as  to  obtain  the  fee.  Their  work  is  often  a 
source  of  great  uncertainty  to  the  officials  at  Washington, 
and  when  unsatisfactory,  test  examinations  may  follow. 


A  CASE   OF  PROGRESSIVE  DISABILITY.  371 

A  recent  example  will  illustrate  this.  A  pensioner  who 
claimed  several  disabilities  was  ordered  before  a  medical 
board  which  found  no  ratable  disability  at  all.  To4  be  sure 
that  no  injustice  was  being  done,  he  was  ordered  before  a 
different  board,  which  found  disabilities  and  rated  them  at 
eight  dollars  per  month.  The  discrepancy  was  so  great  that 
he  was  ordered  before  a  third  board,  which  found  and  care- 
fully described  disabilities  which  it  rated  at  seventeen  dol- 
lars a  month.  As  this  only  added  to  the  uncertainty,  he 
was  ordered  before  a  fourth  board,  which  found  disabilities 
which  it  rated  at  twenty-four  dollars  a  month.  Same  man, 
same  conditions,  same  instructions,  and  all  within  a  few 
days!  The  physicians  were  each  and  all  reputable  practi- 
tioners, and  all  of  the  boards  were  under  the  classified  serv- 
ice of  the  bureau.  Each  board,  which  consisted  of  three 
members,  found  unanimously.  This  disagreement  of  doctors 
is  so  common  an  occurrence  that  the  bureau  long  since  des- 
paired of  obtaining  the  same  ratings  for  the  same  disabilities. 
In  all,  nearly  5,000  physicians  are  employed  for  this  work 
throughout  the  country. 

When  the  evidence  is  complete  the  examiner  prepares  it 
for  submission  to  the  Board  of  Review,  whose  sole  function 
is  to  treat  cases  judicially  upon  the  papers  as  submitted. 
After  a  time,  if  the  claim  is  allowed,  a  proper  record  is 
made,  the  last  requisite  filled,  the  pension  is  granted,  and 
the  much-indorsed  "jacket"  with  its  contents  passes  to  its 
resting-place  in  one  of  the  many  great  receptacles  provided 
for  the  thousands  of  "  cases  "  allowed  and  disallowed.  Only 
about  one-half  of  the  claims  presented  pass  successfully 
through  the  intricate  mill  of  the  Pension  Bureau. 

The  pension  officials  do  not  sit  upon  beds  of  roses — or,  if 
they  do,  they  are  full  of  thorns.  So  various  and  minute  are 
the  provisions  of  law  applicable  to  the  cases  under  their 
consideration,  and  so  numerous  are  the  rulings  of  the  bureau, 
that  each  claim  demands  the  most  exhaustive  examination, 


372  AN  ANGRY  LETTER  —  A  PATHETIC  LETTER. 

the  keenest  discrimination,  and  the  wisest  judgment,  to 
reach  a  final  just  conclusion. 

Indignant  letters  are  often  received  from  disappointed 
claimants.  Some  years  ago  a  Captain  B.  of  Havre-de-Grace, 
Maryland,  a  claimant  for  pension  under  the  act  of  1871,  for 
services  in  the  War  of  1812,  -had  his  claim  rejected,  it  appear- 
ing that  he  had  served  less  than  sixty  days  as  required  by 
that  act  ;  whereupon  the  Captain  grew  wrathful  and  wrote 
as  follows  : 

"  N.  B.  —  Any  man  that  will  say  that  I  was  not  a  Pri- 
vate soldier  in  Capt.  Paca  Smith's  company  before  the 
attack  of  the  British  on  the  City  of  Baltimore,  and  dur- 
ing the  attack  on  said  city  in  Sept.  1814,  and  after  the 
British  dropped  down  to  Cape  Henry,  I  say  he  is  a  das- 
tard, a  liar,  and  a  coward,  and  no  gentleman,  or  any  man 
that  will  say  that  I  got  my  Land-  Warrant  from  the  Hon. 
Geo.  O.  Whiting,  for  160  acres  of  Land,  for  14  days' 
services  in  Capt.  Paca  Smith's  company,  is  the  same,  as 
stated  above,  and  I  hold  myself  responsible  for  the  contents 
of  this  letter  ;  and  if  their  dignity  should  be  touched,  a  note 
of  honor  directed  to  Capt.  Wm.  B  --  ,  Havre-de-Grace, 
Harford  Co.,  Md.,  shall  be  punctually  attended  to. 


Once  upon  a  time  an  aged  claimant  for  a  pension,  who 
served  in  the  War  of  1812,  wrote  the  following  touching 
letter  to  the  bureau  :  "  Oh  !  can  it  be  true  that  I  am  going 
to  get  $100  ?  That  news  is  too  good  !  I'm  so  hungry,  and 
I  love  coffee  so,  but  I  can't  get  any!  All  I  have  to  eat  is 
cornbread  and  sour  milk.  I  can't  believe  that  I  am  to  get 
so  much  money,  but  I  pray  God  it  may  be  true." 

The  Special  Examination  Division  is  one  to  which  only 
cases  requiring  special  examinations  are  referred.  Special 
examiners  are  stationed  at  various  points  in  the  country, 
and  are  usually  graduates  from  the  clerical  force  of  the  bu- 
reau, and  therefore  well  acquainted  with  the  law  and  modes 
of  procedure.  They  investigate  the  different  agencies  and 
look  out  for  violations  of  the  pension  laws  as  well  as  frauds 


SWINDLING  AND  THIEVING   CLAIM  AGENTS.  373 

in  the  prosecution  of  claims.  It  is  often  found  that  widows 
continue  to  draw  pensions  in  violation  of  the  law  after  remar- 
riage, and  in  many  cases  every  year  it  is  found  that  the 
pensions  of  deceased  soldiers  are  being  regularly  drawn  by 
imposters.  Evidence  of  forged  endorsements  is  commonly 
found,  and  various  frauds  which  are  more  often  the  work 
of  claim  agents  than  of  claimants  come  to  light. 

The  claim  agent  is  a  necessary  evil.  The  average  vet- 
eran, while  he  may  know  all  about  his  disabilities,  is  as 
ignorant  as  a  babe  of  that  great  and  complex  fabric  of  legis- 
lation called  the  pension  laws.  Many  a  poor  fellow  who 
lost  his  leg  or  arm,  or  carries  a  bullet  in  him,  received  in 
his  country's  battles,  knows  all  about  the  minus  members, 
the  battles,  and  the  bullet,  and  not  an  atom  about  "the 
provisions  of  the  law,"  or  the  intricacies  of  official  red-tape. 
Because  his  knowledge  is  of  so  one-sided  a  character,  he 
finds  it  no  easy  matter  to  get  the  governmental  reward  for 
that  buried  leg  or  arm ;  and  by  the  time  all  *'  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  "  have  been  slowly  beaten  into  his  brains, 
the  greater  portion  of  his  pension  is  pocketed  by  the  claim 
agent  who  showed  him  how  to  get  it. 

Not  one  veteran  in  a  thousand  could  prepare  his  own 
case  so  that  it  would  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Pension 
Bureau,  and  the  interminable  correspondence  which  would 
arise  in  the  effort  to  prepare  the  case  in  legal  and  regular 
form  would  be  painful  to  both  the  veteran  and  the  officials. 
The  result  is,  unfortunately,  that  a  pension  attorney  is  essen- 
tial to  a  fair  degree  of  success.  If  all  attorneys  were  honest 
and  took  up  only  such  cases  as  came  to  them  legitimately 
and  considered  only  such  cases  as  were  deserving,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty. 

There  is  absolutely  no  bar  to  the  admission  of  any  man 
or  woman  of  any  color  to  practice  as  a  claim  agent,  who 
can  furnish  a  certificate  from  a  Judge  of  the  United  States 
or  Territorial  courts  that  he  or  she  "  is  of  good  moral  char- 


374  DISHONEST  PENSION  ATTORNEYS. 

acter  and  of  good  repute  and  competent  to  assist  claimants 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  claims."  The  agent  may  know 
little  of  law  or  of  anything  else;  he  may  be  a  man  who 
would  shun  fraudulent  methods  in  ordinary  business,  but  he 
seems  to  fall  easily  into  the  habit  of  thinking  that  anything 
to  get  a  claim  through  the  Pension  Office  is  justifiable. 
Every  year  the  bureau  discovers  that  "some  leading  man 
in  his  community,"  or  a  "man  of  first-class  reputation,"  is 
fabricating  papers,  and  changing  affidavits,  and  the  swindler 
generally  sets  up  as  a  defense  that  his  clients  were  justly 
entitled  to  pensions  according  to  the  altered  papers. 

In  1897  it  was  discovered  that  a  notary  public  and  pen- 
sion attorney  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  having  a  large 
practice,  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  the  certificates  of 
clients  in  his  office  and  of  executing  the  quarterly  vouchers 
for  the  pensioner.  When  a  pensioner  died  he  continued  to 
execute  the  vouchers  and  drew  the  money  for  himself  upon 
a  dozen  different  cases.  The  government  had  paid  out 
$20,000  on  such  forgeries  before  they  were  detected. 

In  1899  a  well-organized  gang  of  pension  swindlers  was 
discovered  by  special  examiners  in  one  of  the  Southern 
cities.  It  was  their  practice  to  forge  whatever  papers  were 
necessary  to  make  out  a  proper  claim,  to  select  the  name  of 
a  soldier  upon  which  to  base  a  claim  for  a  widow's  pension 
from  the  stones  in  soldiers'  cemeteries,  and  to  "swap" 
papers  purporting  to  be  affidavits.  One  member  acted  as 
notary  and  signed  and  sealed  papers  without  swearing  or 
seeing  witnesses.  Others  signed  to  papers  any  name  they 
were  told  to  sign.  It  was  found  that  over  one  hundred 
claims  thus  pending  were  without  any  foundation  whatever. 
The  leader  of  this  gang  was  a  pension  attorney  who  had 
been  disbarred  for  forgery. 

Some  attempt  has  been  made  to  purge  the  roster  of  at- 
torneys, and  the  number  entitled  to  practice  before  the 
bureau  has  been  reduced  from  some  60,000  to  about  20,000. 


THE  REAL  FRIEND   OF  PENSION  CLAIMANTS.  375 

They  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  new  pension  legislation. 
After  the  law  of  1890  was  passed,  opening  the  way  for 
many  veterans  to  prove  disabilities  which  could  not  be 
proven  under  the  general  laws,  claims  poured  in  at  the  rate 
of  a  thousand  a  day.  Pension  attorneys  grew  rich.  Soldiers 
were  appealed  to  to  fill  out  their  applications,  and  the  agents 
received  a  ten-dollar  fee  on  each  claim  filed.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  the  bureau  to  keep  the  work  up  to  date,  and  many 
meritorious  claims  under  the  general  law  had  to  wait. 
Most  of  the  pensions  now  granted  to  veterans  of  the  Civil 
War  are  under  the  new  law,  which  does  not  materially 
increase  the  expenditure,  because  the  rates  are  less  and 
the  old  pensioners  are  dying  off. 

It  can  not  be  wondered  at  that  the  processes  within  the 
bureau  are  slow  and  careful  when  the  business  is  hedged 
about  with  so  many  dangers.  While  the  agent  may  be 
necessary  to  the  claimant,  the  bureau  is  much  more  his  sin- 
cere friend.  The  real  enemy  of  the  deserving  veteran  is  the 
unscrupulous  attorney  who  takes  up  the  time  of  the  bureau 
•by  necessitating  special  examination  of  his  suspicious  cases. 

The  work  of  the  Pension  Bureau  is  conscientious  and 
thorough,  and  the  criticism  which  has  been  heaped  upon  it 
on  the  one  hand  by  the  veterans  who  could  not  prove  their 
rights  to  pensions,  and  on  the  other  by  people  who  regard 
only  the  size  of  the  pension  roll  without  any  thought  of  the 
obligations  of  the  government  to  survivors  of  the  war,  is 
wholly  undeserved.  As  the  late  ex-President  Harrison  once 
said :  "  There  are  two  views  of  the  pension  question  —  one 
from  the  c  Little  Hound  Top '  at  Gettysburg,  looking  over  a 
field  sown  thickly  with  the  dead,  and  around  upon- bloody, 
blackened,  and  maimed  men,  cheering  the  shot-torn  banner 
of  their  country;  the  other  from  an  office  desk  on  a  busy 
street,  or  from  an  endowed  chair  in  a  university,  looking 
only  upon  a  statistical  table." 

21 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  CENSUS  BUREAU  — COUNTING  THE  NOSES  OP 

EIGHTY  MILLION  PEOPLE  — HOW  AND 

WHY  IT   IS  DONE. 

Why  the  Census  Is  Taken  Every  Ten  Years  —  Some  Pointed  Questions 
—  Tribulations  of  Enumerators  —  "None  of  Your  Business" — Be- 
ginning of  the  Process  — The  Scramble  for  Positions  —  Pulling 
Wires  To  Secure  Office  —  How  the  Census  Is  Taken  —  Starting 
50,000  Canvassers  in  One  Day  —  Disagreeable  Experiences  —  Meeting 
Shotguns  and  Savage  Dogs — "What  Is  Your  Age?"  —  Irate 
Females  —  How  the  Question  Is  Answered  by  Certain  Persons  — 
"Sweet  Sixteen" — "Fibbing"  a  Little  —  Keeping  Tabs  on  the 
Enumerators  —  Enormous  Amount  of  Detail  —  The  Punching  Ma- 
chine—Cost of  the.  Census  «f  1900— The  Land  Office  and  Its 
Work  —  Settlers  and  Homeseekers  —  The  Geological  Survey  —  Its 
Interesting  Work  —  The  Indian  Bureau  —  How  Poor  "  Lo  "  Is  Cared 
For — Indian  Delegations  in  Washington — The  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion. 


!T  was  ordained  at  the  beginning  of  the  consti- 
tutional government  that  Uncle  Sam  should 
count  every  man,  woman,  and  child  every  ten 
years,  for  population  is  made  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  num- 
'  ber  of  members  from  each  state  being  in  proportion 
to  the  population  found  at  each  decennial  count.  Like 
almost  everything  else  connected  with  the  government,  the 
taking  of  this  census  has  developed  from  a  small  affair  to  an 
undertaking  of  mighty  proportions,  partly  because  of  the 
immense  growth  of  the  country  in  area  and  in  population, 
but  more  especially  because  the  census  was  gradually  made 

(376) 


OUR  INQUISITIVE  UNCLE  SAM.  £77 

to  embrace  a  multitude  of  inquiries  concerning  the  wealth, 
health,  infirmities,  occupations,  and  education  of  the  people. 

Every  person  is  not  simply  counted,  but  Uncle  Sam 
insists  upon  asking  every  man  how  he  is  and  what  he  does, 
how  much  lie  earns  and  how  much  he  owes,  how  old  he  is 
and  where  he  was  born,  whether  he  can  read  and  write,  and 
whether  he  is  sound  in  mind  and  body,  and  a  great  many 
other  things  to  which  now  and  then  a  person  retorts  angrily 
to  the  census  taker  that  "  it  is  none  of  Uncle  Sam's  business." 
But  Uncle  Sam  has  a  way  of  demonstrating  to  such  people 
that  it  is  his  business,  and  he  generally  succeeds  in  obtain- 
ing answers  to  his  questions,  even  if  they  are  not  always 
"the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth." 

So  extensive  has  become  the  work  that  one  census  is 
hardly  completed  before  it  is  time  to  prepare  for  the  next ; 
thus  the  Census  Bureau  has  practically  become  a  permanent 
one,  and  a  building  was  erected  for  its  purposes  in  1899.  It 
is  a  two-story  structure  with  a  vaulted  skylight  over  the 
center,  which  is  one  mammoth  room,  where  the  clerks  sit  at 
small  desks  so  arranged  that  one  general  superintendent  can 
overlook  the  force  of  hundreds  of  men  and  women. 

For  two  years  before  the  enumerators  are  set  to  work, 
the  census  is  the  talk  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of 
Washington.  There  is  always  a  small  army  of  men  and 
women  in  the  city  who  have  failed  to  secure  positions  in 
other  departments,  and  as  a  last  resort  they  make  strenuous 
effort  to  obtain  employment  in  the  Census  Bureau.  The 
unemployed  sons  and  daughters  of  regular  office-holders 
join  the  throng  in  large  numbers,  putting  in  their  applica- 
tions as  residents  of  states  from  which  their  fathers  origi- 
nally came.  Senators  and  Representatives  are  allotted  a  cer- 
tain number  of  appointments,  and  there  is  always  fierce 
competition  to  secure  a  place  on  a  member's  allotment.  In- 
fluential constituents  of  members  are  appealed  to,  and  the 
Congressional  mail  rises  to  great  proportions. 


378  AN  ARMY  OF  WOULD-BE  APPOINTEES. 

The  head  of  the  bureau  is  a  Superintendent  of  the  Cen- 
sus, who  is  appointed  by  the  President,  and  who  generally 
installs  a  few  of  the  more  important  officers  in  their  places 
early  in  the  year  before  the  census  is  taken.  Their  time  is 
occupied  in  preparing  the  schedules  for  the  enumerators  and 
in  filing  applications  for  appointment.  "When  the  time  comes 
for  appointments,  examinations  are  held,  their  character 
being  fixed  by  the  census  officials,  for  the  bureau  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  The  applicants  are 
summoned  for  examination  in  detachments,  and  every  day 
brings  an  army  of  would-be  appointees  with  anxious  faces 
and  palpitating  hearts.  About  one-half  usually  fail  to  pass 
the  rigid  test,  and  thus  there  is  another  increase  in  the  aggre- 
gate of  blasted  hopes,  one  of  the  few  things  which  Uncle 
Sam  never  attempts  to  enumerate.  Not  all  who  pass  secure 
appointments,  but  by  the  time  the  reports  begin  to  arrive  at 
the  bureau,  it  is  usually  equipped  with  a  force  of  over  2,500 
people,  many  of  them  young  and  middle-aged  women. 

The  work  of  taking  the  census  must  be  begun  on  the 
same  day  all  over  the  country  and  completed,  so  far  as 
enumeration  goes,  within  a  few  weeks.  To  do  this,  it  is 
essential  to  divide  the  whole  country  into  about  300  districts, 
each  with  a  supervisor,  and  these  districts  are  sub-divided 
into  much  smaller  districts,  each  of  which  is  given  to  an 
enumerator,  or  canvasser.  Thus  on  the  same  day  Uncle  Sam 
starts  out  over  50,000  of  these  canvassers,  each  with  a  sched- 
ule of  questions  he  is  to  ask  at  every  house,  and  each  is  paid 
according  to  the  number  of  names  he  obtains.  In  thickly- 
settled  districts,  an  enumerator  usually  has  from  3,500  to 
4,000  names,  while  in  sparsely-settled  parts  of  the  country 
an  enumerator  will  have  all  he  can  do  within  the  required 
time  to  pick  up  a  hundred  names. 

The  schedule  contains  spaces  for  questions  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  families  in  each  house,  the  number  of  persons  in  each 
family,  their  names,  relationship,  age,  color,  sex,  birthplace, 


"WHAT  IS  YOUR  AGE?"  379 

vocations,  whether  any  are  attendants  at  school,  if  of  school 
age,  and  whether  they  speak  English  and  can  read  and 
write.  The  enumerator  must  also  find  out  who  are  paupers 
and  who  are  pensioners;  also  whether  a  house  is  owned  or 
rented,  mortgaged  or  not,  and  if  so  for  how  much ;  and 
there  are  also  a  great  number  of  special  questions  relating 
especially  to  farms,  and  factories,  and  business  offices. 
When  the  enumerators  have  completed  their  work  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  supervisor  of  their  districts,  the  schedules 
are  sent  to  Washington. 

Although  there  is  little  difficulty  in  finding  50,000  men 
ready  to  become  enumerators,  the  task  is  not  always  delight- 
ful or  profitable.  Doors  are  slammed  in  their  faces,  and 
sometimes  they  have  been  pursued  by  irate  mountain- 
eers armed  with  shotguns.  Many  consider  them  fit  game 
for  savage  watchdogs.  People  who  are  not  disposed  to  tell 
the  truth  about  themselves  when  under  oath,  could  hardly 
be  expected  to  make  reputations  for  veracity  before  a 
census  enumerator.  Furthermore,  people  who  flatter  them- 
selves that  they  have  a  strict  regard  for  the  truth,  are 
not  above  a  little  "fibbing"  along  certain  lines.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  the  number  of  females  between  the  ages  of 
fifteen  and  nineteen  is  always  out  of  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber at  other  ages.  Girls  below  fifteen  are  apt  to  "  stretch  it" 
a  little,  and  those  above  nineteen  have  an  inclination  in  the 
other  direction.  Often  the  enumerator  resides  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  there  will  always  be  a  few  young  ladies  who 
are  sensitive  about  their  age,  and  who  have  a  fear  that  the 
enumerator  will  reveal  it  if  they  tell  the  exact  truth.  In 
the  case  of  young  men  the  number  of  those  who  are  shown 
to  be  twenty-one  is  far  in  excess  of  what  it  should  be,  in 
proportion  to  those  above  and  under  that  age. 

The  statisticians  in  the  Census  Bureau  at  Washington 
generally  find  a  certain  ratio  running  through  all  returns, 
and  it  is  from  a  comparison  with  these  that  they  judge 


380  AN  AMAZING   LITTLE  MACHINE. 

somewhat  of  the  accuracy  of  the  enumerators'  work.  For 
example,  they  find  that  in  any  district  the  proportion  of 
deaths  to  the  number  of  people  will  present  few  variations, 
and  when  a  marked  variation  is  noticed  they  notify  the 
enumerator  of  the  fact  before  paying  him.  If  he  insists 
upon  the  correctness  of  his  count,  it  is  set  down  as  an  excep- 
tion, though  if  an  inaccuracy  is  very  apparent  the  super- 
visor may  be  required  to  make  another  enumeration.  The 
schedules  are  generally  all  in  and  the  enumerators  paid 
within  four  months  from  the  time  the  count  was  begun. 

But  this  is  the  simplest  part  of  the  work.  When  the 
schedules  from  the  50,000  and  more  enumerators  arrive 
they  must  be  counted,  not  simply  for  their  number  but  for 
the  number  of  those  who  are  male,  female,  black,  white, 
married,  single,  and  so  on,  all  through  the  long  series  of 
answered  questions.  They  must  be  counted  and  tabulated 
for  each  district,  for  each  town,  for  each  county,  and  for 
each  state,  and  it  must  be  done  within  three  months,  for 
Congress  meets  in  December  and  will,  on  the  basis  of  the 
population  shown,  rearrange  the  congressional  districts. 
Now  if  2,000  men  and  women  were  set  to  work  counting  on 
these  schedules  by  hand,  they  could  not  possibly  complete 
them  by  the  time  another  census  had  to  be  taken.  So 
mechanical  genius  has  devised  means  for  counting  and 
adding  up  all  the  various  features  of  the  schedules. 

In  the  large  room  which  is  really  the  court  of  the  census 
building  covered  by  skylights,  during  the  hot  summer 
months  following  the  enumeration  are  hundreds  of  women, 
each  sitting  at  her  little  table  and  working  with  amazing 
rapidity  at  what  is  known  as  a  punching  machine.  As  we 
enter  we  look  upon  an  army  of  women  working  as  if  their 
lives  depended  upon  it ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  nothing  de- 
pends upon  it  but  an  increase  in  salary.  The  bureau 
wishes  to  establish  a  reputation  for  completing  the  work  in 
the  shortest  possible  time,  and  those  who  can  punch  600 


881 

cards  a  day  will  have  seventy-five  dollars  a  month  instead 
of  sixty.  So  these  women  work  at  break-neck  speed,  know- 
ing the  while  that  the  sooner  they  complete  their  task  the 
sooner  they  will  be  out  of  employment.  But  they  must 
comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  superintendents  or 
give  way  to  the  hundreds  who  would  gladly  take  their 
places.  During  some  of  the  hot  summer  days  of  1900,  as 
many  as  twenty  girls  fainted  at  their  tables,  for  the  fierce 
sun  beating  upon  the  glass  roof  above  them  made  the  tem- 
perature of  the  great  room  painfully  oppressive. 

The  punching  machines  have  a  diagram  made  up  of 
small  irregular  spaces,  each  containing  in  regular  order  cer- 
tain figures  or  letters,  or  combinations  of  figures  or  letters, 
some  300  in  all.  This  diagram  is  just  the  size  of  the  card  to 
be  punched,  and  each  letter  or  figure  is  a  symbol  for  some 
fact,  like  male  or  female,  black  or  white,  English-speaking 
or  not,  etc.  In  one  of  the  spaces  not  two  inches  square  are 
grouped  the  capitals  of  the  alphabet,  and  in  another  the 
small  letters.  By  using  various  combinations  of  these  capi- 
tals and  lower-case  letters  every  known  occupation  of  men 
can  be  "  punched  "  ;  for  example,  Gl  stands  for  accountants, 
Cn  for  almshouse  keepers,  etc.,  the  index  of  these  symbols 
making  a  closely-printed  book  of  nearly  forty  pages,  which 
the  machine  operator  must  master. 

Slipping  a  card  under  the  machine  she  looks  at  her 
schedule,  and  brings  the  small  lever  bearing  the  punch  over 
the  letter  or  figures  in  the  diagram  indicating  the  facts  to 
be  recorded.  The  cards  are  about  three  inches  by  six  and 
all  are  numbered.  The  punch  makes  a  hole  about  the  size 
of  a  small  pea,  and  by  the  time  a  single  schedule  is  finished 
a  card  will  have  from  fifteen  to  twenty  holes  in  it.  In 
other  words,  that  number  of  punches  must  be  made  in  about 
600  cards  a  day.  If  any  girl  is  tempted  to  slight  her  task 
she  quickly  recovers  from  it,  for  a  force  of  clerks  each 
night  goes  over  the  work  to  see  that  it  is  done  correctly 


382       EIGHTY  MILLIONS  UNDER  THE  AMERICAN  FLAG. 

The  cards  are  then  fed  into  an  adding  machine  so  con- 
structed that  it  registers  in  the  proper  place  for  every  hole 
in  the  card.  For  example,  when  all  the  cards  from  the  City 
of  New  York  have  been  run  through,  the  register  will 
reveal  at  a  glance  what  the  population  is,  how  many  are 
males  and  how  many  females,  how  many  speak  English  and 
how  many  do  not,  and  so  on  through  the  long  catechism  of 
the  enumerator. 

As  soon  as  tabulations  begin  to  be  made,  the  results  are 
turned  over  to  expert  statisticians  who  map  out  lines  for 
special  investigations,  and  the  printing  department  of  the 
bureau  begins  the  publication  of  bulletins  giving  the  results 
of  the  count  as  it  progresses.  The  bureau  employs  several 
special  agents  for  gathering  specific  statistics  concerning 
manufactures  and  finance,  and  their  returns  are  handled 
after  the  returns  of  the  enumerators  are  out  of  the  way. 
At  the  end  of  three  years  it  is  possible  to  publish  a  com- 
pendium of  the  census.  At  the  same  time  the  complete 
work,  usually  consisting  of  twenty  or  more  large  volumes 
all  devoted  to  tables,  is  in  course  of  publication.  The  cost 
of  taking  the  census  of  1900  was  about  $10,000,000. 

There  are  in  the  United  States,  as  counted  by  the  twelfth 
census,  76,295,220  people.  But  this  does  not  include  the 
total  under  the  American  flag.  To  it  should  be  added 
953,213  of  the  population  of  Porto  Eico,  counted  by  the 
"War  Department,  and  about  7,000,000  as  a  conservative  esti- 
mate of  the  population  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 

At  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  therefore,  the 
United  States  included  over  84,000,000  people,  while  at  the 
beginning  it  had  about  5,250,000.  Between  1800  and  1900 
it  has  increased  fifteen  fold,  and  it  is  now,  after  the  Chinese, 
British,  and  Kussian  Empires,  the  most  populous  country  in 
the  world. 

No  single  law  of  growth  will  enable  us  to  forecast  the 
population  of  the  United  States  100  years  hence  with  any 


DEVELOPING   THE  RESOURCES   OF  THE  WEST.  383 

confidence  in  the  results.  But  it  is  believed  that  we  shall 
have  in  the  year  2000  A.  D.  a  population  of  at  least  200,- 
000,000. 

!N"o  departmental  office  in  the  government  has,  in  the 
past  forty  years,  been  so  directly  concerned  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  vast  reserves  of  the  West  as  the  General  Land 
Office. 

All  attempts  to  pass  a  suitable  homestead  law  were  baf- 
fled till  1862.  From  that  date  to  the  present,  millions  of 
acres  have  been  divided  into  farms  which  have  developed 
into  the  great  agricultural  regions  of  the  -West.  Under  this 
law  actual  settlers  are  given  160  acres  where  the  land  is 
rated  at  $1.25  an  acre,  and  eighty  acres  where  rated  at  $2.50. 
The  settler  is  required  to  make  affidavit  that  the  land  is 
entered  for  his  own  use  as  a  homestead,  and  the  patent  does 
not  issue  to  him  till  he  has  resided  upon  and  cultivated  the 
land  for  five  years.  Soldiers  and  sailors  have  this  period  re- 
duced by  the  time  they  served  in  the  army  or  navy,  but 
must  reside  on  the  land  at  least  one  year. 

Intending  homestead  seekers  make  entry  for  lands  at 
some  one  of  the  land  offices  in  the  West.  These  entries  are 
sent  to  the  General  Land  Office,  and  each  one  is  assigned  to 
an  experienced  clerk,  who  examines  all  the  proof  submitted. 
If  it  is  found  that  the  entryman  has  made  a  substantial  com- 
pliance with  the  law  in  good  faith,  the  case  is  marked 
"  approved  "  and  sent  to  the  Kecorder's  division  of  the  office 
for  patenting.  Here  the  patent  is  written  up  and  recorded, 
and  in  time  transmitted  to  the  entryman. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  and  later  of  other 
minerals  in  other  new  states  and  territories,  required  a 
special  provision  differing  from  those  relating  to  agricultural 
lands.  But  this  was  not  made  till  1866,  and  duriirg  the  long 
period  when  discoveries  of  mineral  wealth  were  made  in  the 
West  there  was  little  regulation  by  law.  Prospectors  roamed 
over  the  hills  and  dug  out  wealth  wherever  they  could  find 


384  WORK  OF  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

it  without  any  title  to  the  land  from  the  United  States.  The 
miners  made  their  own  laws  and  in  general  got  along  very 
well,  and  their  regulations  were  so  fair  that  when  Congress 
came  to  legislate,  it  recognized  the  claims  taken  up  under 
them ;  but  the  claims  on  a  mining  lode  or  vein  were  limited 
to  1,500  feet  in  length  along  the  vein  or  lode,  and  300  feet 
in  width. 

The  system  of  rectangular  land  surveys  was  adopted  as 
early  as  1785,  and  it  is  the  established  policy  that  all  lands 
must  be  surveyed  by  the  government  before  sale.  Formerly 
this  was  done  by  surveyors  hired  for  the  purpose,  but  some 
years  ago  the  surveyors  were  organized  into  a  regular  bureau 
called  the  Geological  Survey.  It  occupies  extensive  offices 
in  a  rented  building,  and,  with  its  rare  collection  of  pictures 
of  famous  Western  scenery,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
bureaus  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  Every  summer, 
parties  of  expert  surveyors  from  this  office  leave  Washington 
equipped  for  a  season's  work  in  various  sections  of  the  West, 
no\v  chiefly  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Each  party  makes  it  a  business  to  thoroughly  survey  a 
certain  section  of  the  country.  They  fix  their  camps  and 
from  them  operate  in  all  directions,  traversing  difficult 
trails  and  laying  them  down  on  paper,  and  either  sketching 
br  photographing  the  hills  and  valleys  from  different  points 
of  view.  Each  surveyor  is  provided  not  only  with  his  instru- 
ments, but  with  a  mule,  to  which  he  sometimes  becomes 
much  attached,  as  the  companion  of  his  lonely  wanderings. 
Returning  to  Washington  in  the  fall,  the  various  parties  work 
up  their  surveys  into  permanent  form,  and  thus  Uncle  Sam 
is  able  from  his  archives  to  tell  you  the  physical  qualities  of 
most  of  the  great  mountains  of  the  West,  and  to  show  a 
large  collection  of  beautiful  colored  photographs  of  these 
regions. 

As  the  public  lands  have  become  the  private  property  of 
the  constantly-advancing  army  of  settlers,  the  Indians  have 


INDIANS   IN   THE  STREETS   OF  WASHINGTON.  385 

"  read  their  doom  in  the  setting  sun."  What  to  do  with 
them  has  ever  been  a  troublesome  question  to  the  govern- 
ment. It  has  tried  to  be  good  to  bad  Indians,  but  has  quite 
often  been  bad  to  good  ones.  It  has  tried  to  help  them  to 
help  themselves,  but  too  often  the  government  agents  have 
"helped  themselves"  to  much  that  should  have  gone  to  the 
Indians,  who  have  unfortunately  taken  more  kindly  to  our 
rum  than  to  our  educational  methods.  But  the  question  is 
almost  settled ;  there  are  only  about  250,000  red  men  left 
within  the  United  States,  and  they  are  separated  into  small 
groups. 

An  Indian  delegation  is  a  frequent  sight  on  the  streets  of 
Washington.  They  arrive  dressed  in  their  best  buckskin 
trousers  and  their  brightest  feathers,  and,  in  a  picturesque 
group,  solemnly  take  their  way  to  the  Indian  Bureau  in  the 
Interior  Department,  where,  through  their  interpreter,  they 
lay  their  troubles  or  their  plans  before  the  Commissioner. 
They  are  leading  men  from  their  reservations,  and  they 
return  to  their  tribes  as  they  came,  without  a  smile  upon 
their  stolid  features. 

Of  the  other  bureaus  of  the  Interior  Department  the 
most  important  is  the  Bureau  of  Education.  It  was  estab- 
lished in  1867  to  collect  and  publish  statistics  showing  the 
condition  and  progress  of  education  in  the  various  states  and 
territories,  and  to  diffuse  such  information  as  shall  promote 
education  everywhere.  This  bureau  is  a  storehouse  of  a  vast 
amount  of  literature  showing  the  experience  of  teachers,  and 
is  a  place  of  common  exchange  of  ideas  between  the  teachers 
of  our  own  country  and  those  of  foreign  lands.  It  seeks  to 
measure  yearly  the  advance  or  decline  of  the  educational 
spirit,  and  it  provides  a  source  of  valuable  information  to 
Congress  when  the  latter  feels  disposed  to  encourage  the 
education  of  the  people  through  better  public  schools. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A.    DAY    IN    THE    DEPARTMENT    OP    AGRICULTURE  —  THE 
FARMER'S  FRIEND  AND  CO-WORKER  —  FREE  DIS- 
TRIBUTION OF  CHOICE  AND  PURE  SEEDS 
—  HOW  THEY  MAY  BE   HAD 
FOR   THE  ASKING. 

The  Farmer's  Real  Friend  —  The  Bureau  of  Agriculture  —  What  It  Has 
Done  and  Is  Now  Doing  for  Farmers  —  Investigating  Diseases  of  Do- 
mestic Live  Stock  —  How  It  Promotes  Dairy  Interests  —  Experiment 
Stations  —  Valuable  Free  Publications  for  Farmers  —  Interesting  Facts 
About  Mosquitoes  — How  To  Kill  Insect  Pests  — Facts  for  Fruit 
Growers  —  Examining  15,000  Birds'  Stomachs — Vindicating  the  Much- 
Maligned  Crow  —  Controlling  the  Spread  of  Weeds — Poisonous  Plants 
—  Adulterated  Seeds  —  Seeds  of  New  and  Choice  Varieties  —  Testing 
the  Purity  of  Seeds  —  Free  Distribution  of  Seeds  —  How  the  Finest 
and  Purest  Seeds  May  Be  Had  for  Nothing — Great  Opposition  of 
Private  Seedsmen  —  Diseases  of  Plants  —  Something  About  Grasses — 
The  Agricultural  Museum. 


HATEVEB,  attention  the  government  paid  to 
the  great  agricultural  interests  of  the  country 
previous  to  1862  emanated  from  the  Patent- 
Office,  where  the  commissioners  distributed, 
free  of  charge,  such  seeds  as  they  could  on  a  yearly 
appropriation  of  $1,000.  In  1862  a  Department  of 
Agriculture  was  organized,  but  it  was  regarded  as  an  inde- 
pendent bureau  merely,  and  there  was  no  thought  of  making 
the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  a  member  of  the  Cabinet. 
It  was  the  action  of  the  German  government  that  raised 
the  Commissioner  to  the  dignity  of  a  member  of  the  Presi- 
dent's official  family. 

(386> 


THE  INSPECTION  OF  EXPORTS.  387 

During  the  '80's  Germany  adopted  the  policy  of  exclud- 
ing American  imports  so  far  as  possible,  for  the  German 
people  were  always  buying  more  of  the  United  States, 
especially  in  the  way  of  meats,  than  we  were  buying  of 
Germany,  with  the  result  that  the  latter  country  was  com- 
pelled to  pay  us  annually  a  large  amount  of  gold  at  the  very 
time  it  was  straining  its  credit  to  buy  the  precious  metal  to 
establish  a  gold  standard.  A  great  hue  and  cry  arose  in 
Germany  against  American  meat,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
diseased,  and  regulations  were  adopted  which  practically 
excluded  it.  The  only  way  for  Uncle  Sam  to  meet  this 
underhanded  discrimination  was  to  institute  a  rigid  inspec- 
tion of  all  meats  exported,  and  to  retaliate,  if  Germany  per- 
sisted in  the  fictitious  objection,  by  excluding  from  this 
country  some  of  her  products.  To  provide  for  such  inspec- 
tion of  exports,  it  was  necessary  to  perfect  an  extensive 
organization  for.  the  purpose,  and  it  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  who,  by  a  law  passed 
in  1889,  was  made  the  Secretary  of  a  Department  and  in- 
vited into  the  President's  councils.  Since  that  time  it  has 
become  one  of  the  most  active  and  beneficial  departments  of 
the  government. 

The  offices  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  are  in  a  com- 
modious building  enjoying  the  advantage  of  being  the  best 
situated  of  any  government  building  in  Washington.  It 
looks  over  spacious  terraced  gardens  which  in  the  season 
are  a  blaze  of  color.  About  the  extensive  grounds  can  be 
found  nearly  every  plant  indigenous  to  our  country,  from 
the  luxuriant  vegetations  of  the  tropics  to  the  dwarfed  and 
hardy  foliage  of  our  Northern  borders.  Near  by  are  spa- 
cious conservatories  containing  horticultural  specimens  from 
all  over  the  world,  and  the  collection  of  palms  is  unequaled. 
In  the  grounds  back  of  the  building  are  various  other  build- 
ings devoted  to  special  divisions  of  the  department  and  to 
experimental  laboratories. 


388       EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  OF  THE  BUREAU. 

The  department  is  divided  into  two  bureaus  and  fifteen 
divisions,  each  devoted  to  some  special  line  of  scientific  or 
experimental  work  related  to  agricultural  interests.  The 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  makes  investigations  as  to  the 
conditions  of  pleuro-pneumonia  and  other  dangerous  com- 
municable diseases  of  live  stock,  superintends  the  measures 
for  their  extirpation,  and  reports  on  the  conditions  and  means 
of  improving  all  the  animal  industries  of  the  country.  It 
has  charge  of  the  inspection  of  meat  or  live  stock  for  ex- 
port, of  the  inspection  of  vessels  for  the  export  of  cattle, 
and  of  the  quarantine  stations  of  imported  neat  cattle.  The 
bureau  is  divided  into  five  divisions  —  Inspection,  Patholog- 
ical, Biochemic,  Dairy,  &nd  Miscellaneous,  each  in  charge  of 
specialists.  Its  agents  conduct  their  inspection  in  about 
fifty  different  cities  and  in  150  abattoirs,  and  in  a  single 
year  the  ante-mortem  inspections  of  animals  number  about 
60,000,000.  The  dairy  division  of  this  bure.au,  which  occu 
pies  a  special  building  on  the  grounds  of  the  department, 
labors  constantly  to  promote  the  dairy  interests  of  the 
country  by  introducing  advanced  methods.  The  annual 
value  of  the  dairy  products  of  the  country  is  now  over 
$500,000,000. 

The  Division  of  Statistics  collects  information  as  to  the 
condition,  prospects,  and  harvest  of  the  principal  crops,  and 
of  the  number,  condition,  and  value  of  the  farm  animals, 
through  100,000  volunteer  correspondents  in  all  the  counties 
of  agricultural  importance  in  the  country,  and  through  state 
agents,  each  of  whom  is  assisted  by  local  correspondents. 
It  obtains  similar  information  from  European  countries 
through  consular  and  agricultural  authorities,  and  it  collects 
and  tabulates  a  great  variety  of  statistics  regarding  all 
branches  of  agriculture.  Its  monthly  crop  reports  are 
looked  forward  to  in  every  market  in  the  world.  The  bureau 
makes  a  special  point  of  keeping  the  producers  informed 
for  their  protection  against  combination  and  extortion. 


SOILS,    FERTILIZERS,    MICROBES,   AND  BUGS.  389 

The  office  of  Experiment  Stations  in  this  division  repre- 
sents the  department  in  its  relations  to  the  experiment  sta- 
tions now  in  operation  in  all  the  states  and  territories,  and 
publishes  accounts  of  agricultural  investigations  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  most  important  of  its  many  publications,  the 
Experiment  Station  Record^  is  issued  in  volumes  of  twelve 
numbers  eauh.  It  also  issues  over  a  million  copies  of  the 
Farmer^  Bulletin  every  year. 

The  Division  of  Chemistry  makes  investigation  of  the 
methods  proposed  for  the  analysis  of  soils,  fertilizers,  and 
agricultural  products,  and  such  analyses  as  pertain  to  the  in- 
terests of  agriculture.  Much  of  the  activity  of  this  division 
in  recent  years  has  been  directed  to  a  study  of  the  adultera- 
tion of  foods  and  to  vegetable  nutrition.  It  is  through  this 
division  that  Uncle  Sam  is  trying  to  learn  the  "tricks"  of 
the  microbes  which  supply  nitrogen  nutrition.  There  is  a 
class  of  microbes  that  draws  nitrogen  from  the  air  and 
works  it  into  nitrates  for  plants  in  the  soil,  but  this  benefi- 
cial variety  is  not  allowed  to  carry  on'  its  work  undisturbed. 
In  fact,  the  ways  of  humanity  seem  to  prevail  even  among 
micro-organisms,  for  there  is  another  class  of  microbes 
which  decomposes  the  nitrates  and  returns  it  to  the  air  be- 
fore the  plants  can  get  it.  Uncle  Sam  proposes  to  find  out 
and  tell  the  farmers  how  they  can  care  for  the  useful  mi- 
crobes and  at  the  same  time  make  it  unpleasant  for  the  un- 
desirable ones. 

But  what  Uncle  Sam  has  been  able  to  accomplish  along 
these  lines  is  as  yet  small  compared  with  his  success  in  the 
drastic  treatment  of  imported  bugs,  through  the  Division  of 
Entomology.  Others  may  have  antedated  him  in  making 
smokeless  powder  for  killing  men,  but  he  has  reason  to  flat- 
ter himself  that  he  has  told  the  farmers  how  kerosene  emul- 
sions and  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  will  kill  foreign  insect  pests. 
One  of  these  foreign  bugs  can  create  more  commotion  in 
the  country  than  a  shipload  of  Chinamen. 


390  IMPORTING  INSECTS  TO  FERLILIZE  FIGS. 

Late  in  the  '70's  a  new  insect  made  its  appearance  in 
California  from  some  foreign  clime,  and  under  the  name  of 
the  San  Jose  scale  became  a  deadly  enemy  of  the  fruit 
growers.  Two  innocent  nursery  men  carried  a  few  speci- 
mens East  in  some  nursery  stock,  and  in  less  than  three 
years  there  was  a  literature  of  several  hundred  volumes  on 
the  pest.  It  became  the  exciting  cause  of  national  conven- 
tions of  farmers  and  fruit  growers,  was  the  subject  of  legis- 
lation in  eighteen  states,  and  several  bills  were  laid  before 
Congress.  But  Uncle  Sam  learned  all  about  its  life  history 
and  how  to  cut  it  short.  Of  late  the  division  has  been  in- 
vestigating the  ability  of  mosquitoes  to  carry  disease,  and 
has  been  greatly  assisted  by  some  rare  and  bloodthirsty 
specimens  from  Alaska.  A  bulletin  recently  iss'ued  conveys 
the  reassuring  intelligence  that  while  there  are  250  species 
of  mosquitoes,  only  thirty  are  found  in  the  United  States. 
It  also  explains  that  the  reason  why  mosquitoes  are  mak- 
ing their  appearance  in  mountain  regions  is  that  they  are 
carried  inland  on  the  cars  from  shore  resorts  and  marshy 
places  near  the  coast,  and  as  there  is  no  way  of  stopping 
this  unauthorized  traffic  it  informs  us  that  the  best  thing  to 
do  is  to  burn  pyrethrum  powder  in  the  house. 

The  work  of  the  entomologists  is  not  merely  scientific 
amusement,  but  produces  marked  economic  results,  an  ex- 
ample of  which  is  shown  in  the  prospects  of  fig  culture  in 
the  United  States.  There  have  been  a  large  number  of 
Smyrna  fig  trees  in  California  that  never  matured  fruit  be- 
cause the  flowers  were  never  fertilized.  Uncle  Sam's  ento- 
mologist knew  of  a  very  small  insect  with  a  very  long  name, 
which,  in  the  Mediterranean  countries,  fertilizes  this  fig,  and 
he  suggested  the  importation  of  a  few  specimens.  The  for- 
eigners were  accordingly  brought  over  and  set  to  work  in 
the  California  orchards.  They  multiplied  rapidly  and  many 
of  the  figs  have  matured.  The  growers  have  been  taught  the 
habits  of  these  insects  through  the  Agricultural  Department, 


BIRDS   ON  TRIAL  —  VERDICT,    "NOT  GUILTY."          391 

and  this  may  in  time  add  millions  of  dollars  to  the  produc- 
tive capacity  of  the  country.  Hundreds  of  specimens  of 
curious  insects  are  brought  to  the  entomological  division, 
where  they  are  skillfully  mounted  and  arranged  in  the 
museum.  Yery  queer-looking  things  most  of  them  are,  but 
Uncle  Sam's  entomologists  can  tell  you  where  they  origi- 
nally came  from,  what  they  eat,  and  how  long  they  live  if 
nothing  is  done  to  cut  short  their  existence. 

The  ways  and  means  for  doing  this  are  made  an  especial 
study,  to  a  large  extent  through  the  Division  of  Biological 
Survey,  which  maps  the  natural  life  zones  of  the  country 
and  determines  what  species  are  useful  to  the  farmers  and 
what  are  not.  Birds  are  great  eaters  of  insects,  and  thus  to 
cut  short  the  existence  of  injurious  varieties  it  becomes  im- 
portant to  find  out  the  favorite  insect  diets  of  different  spe- 
cies of  birds.  In  this  work  Uncle  Sam  has  examined  about 
15,000  birds'  stomachs.  Parties  from  the  Biological  Survey 
spend  the  summer  season  in  various  sections  of  the  country, 
and  bring  back  a  winter's  supply  of  stomachs  for  examina- 
tion. It  is  the  study  of  birds  from  the  standpoint  of  dollars 
and  cents,  and  the  result  has  been  the  overthrow  of  many 
popular  notions. 

Every  species  of  bird  goes  before  the  Biological  Survey 
like  a  suspect  before  the  court.  The  evidence  is  examined 
with  great  care.  In  the  case  of  the  crow,  for  instance, 
Uncle  Sam  examined  a  thousand  stomachs  before  he  ven- 
tured a  decision.  The  charges  of  pulling  up  sprouting  corn, 
of  injuring  corn  in  the  milk,  and  of  destroying  fruit  and  the 
eggs  of  poultry,  were  all  sustained ;  but  it  was  also  found  — 
on  rebuttal  as  it  were  —  that  the  corn  in  the  milk  formed 
only  three  per  cent,  of  the  total  food,  that  most  of  the  corn 
destroyed  was  waste  grain,  that  the  destruction  of  fruit  and 
eggs  was  trivial,  while  many  noxious  insects  and  mice  were 
eaten ;  and  the  final  verdict  was  in  favor  of  the  crow,  as  he 
seemed  to  do  more  good  than  harm.  Of  fifty  birds  thus  far 


392  TESTING   THE  PURITY  OF  GARDEN   SEEDS. 

critically  examined,  only  one  has  been  condemned.  This 
was  the  English  sparrow,  which  is,  as  everybody  knows,  an 
unmitigated  and  ever-increasing  nuisance. 

The  Division  of  Forestry  investigates  methods  and  trees 
for  planting  in  the  treeless  sections  of  the  country,  giving 
practical  assistance  to  farmers  and  lumbermen  in  handling 
forest  lands;  it  also  studies  all  forest  questions.  As  the 
matter  now  stands  the  General  Land  Office  is  charged  with 
the  administration  and  protection  of  the  forest  reserves,  and 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey  maps  and  describes 
them;  but  all  the  trained  foresters  in  Uncle  Sam's  service 
are  in  the  Division  of  Forestry,  the  work  of  which  is  as- 
signed to  four  sections, —  working  plans;  economic  tree 
planting ;  special  investigations,  and  office  work. 

The  investigation  of  botanical  agricultural  problems,  in- 
cluding the  purity  and  value  of  seeds ;  methods  of  controll- 
ing the  spread  of  weeds ;  the  dangers  and  effects  of  poison- 
ous plants,  their  antidotes;  and  the  native  plant  resources 
of  the  country,  is  the  work  of  the  Division  of  Botany.  One 
of  its  most  interesting  and  important  operations  is  the  test- 
ing of  seeds,  for  which  Uncle  Sam  has  provided  extensive 
laboratory  and  greenhouse  facilities.  When  a  purity  test 
of  seeds  is  made  the  sample  is  first  poured  into  a  bowl  and 
thoroughly  mixed.  A  small  portion  is  then  weighed  and 
spread  upon  a  sheet  of  white  paper.  Here  it  is  examined 
under  magnifying  glasses  and  all  foreign  matter  removed 
and  placed  on  one  side  and  weighed.  The  percentage  of  each 
kind  of  impurity  is  thus  determined.  It  is  thus  often  found 
that  what  passes  as  garden  seed  is  sometimes  largely  made 
up  of  seeds  of  weeds. 

The  free  distribution  of  seeds,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  Uncle  Sam's  queer  enterprises,  is  conducted  by 
another  office  —  the  Division  of  Seeds.  They  are  purchased 
and  distributed  in  allotments  to  senators,  representatives,  and 
Agricultural  Experiment  Stations,  the  annual  appropriation 


FREE   DISTRIBUTION  OF  RARE  SEEDS  AND  PLANTS.     393 

for  the  purpose  being  about  $130,000.  The  original  inten- 
tion of  Congress  in  providing  for  this  distribution  undoubt- 
edly was  to  do  for  the  producers  work  they  could  not  do  for 
themselves  —  to  search  the  various  localities  of  the  Old 
World  for  seeds  and  plants  and  distribute  them  in  the 
United  States  to  the  several  regions  where  they  would  be 
most  likely  to  thrive ;  but  for  a  long  time  the  prevailing 
practice  was  mainly  to  distribute  American  seeds  which  had 
been  tested  for  purity.  Of  late,  however,  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  appropriation  is  spent  in  importing  rare  seeds 
and  plants,  and  making  special  investigations  as  to  the  local- 
ities in  this  country  best  adapted  for  their  growth. 

As  might  be  supposed,  this  branch  of  agricultural  work 
is  not  looked  upon  with  favor  by  the  private,  seedsmen,  who 
are  constantly  urging  the  government  to  discontinue  it.  But 
the  farmers,  and  indeed  a  great  many  people  who  are  not 
farmers  but  have  only  a  small  back  yard  in  the  city,  take 
too  kindly  to  this  gratuitous  distribution  to  allow  of  its 
discontinuance.  Besides,  it  is  one  of  the  perquisites  of  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  who  are  always  interested  in  the  rural 
vote ;  and  when  they  wish  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  a 
farmer  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  send  his  name  over  to  the 
Division  of  Seeds  with  a  request  that  he  be  sent  a  lot  of 
seeds  of  some  kind  best  adapted  to  his  purposes.  The  farmer 
receives  the  package  franked  to  him  by  his  congressman, 
whom  he  immediately  concludes  must  be  a  pretty  good  fel- 
low after  all.  There  is  no  question  that  the  seeds  sent  out 
are  of  the  purest  and  best  quality,  but  to  the  Congressman 
their  value  lies  not  so  much  in  their  purity  as  in  their  vote- 
winning  capacity.  A  special  building  is  required  for  the 
packing  of  the  seeds  after  testing  by  the  Division  of  Botany, 
and  they  are  shipped  in  immense  quantities  all  over  the 
country,  about  $75,000  worth  being  sent  annually  on  the 
allotment  of  Congressmen. 

Plants,  like  people,  have  their  diseases,  and  through  the 


394  FREE  AGRICULTURAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

Division  of  Vegetable  Physiology  and  Pathology,  Uncle  Sara 
endeavors  to  discover  what  they  are  and  what  remedies  can 
be  administered  to  the  plants  for  them.  These  same  plant- 
doctors  also  investigate  plant-breeding.  In  1895  the  Division 
of  Agrostology  was  established  to  investigate  the  natural  his- 
tory and  distribution  of  various  grasses,  and  in  one  part  of 
the  grounds  of  the  department  can  be  seen  a  series  of  small 
squares  devoted  to  the  growth  of  rare  grasses.  An  herba- 
rium contains  a  collection  of  about  35,000  mounted  speci- 
mens of  different  grasses.  The  Division  of  Pomology  col- 
lects and  distributes  information  as  to  the  fruit  interests  of 
the  United  States  and  foreign  countries;  the  Division  of 
Soils  makes  extensive  investigations  into  the  nature  and 
treatment  of  different  soils;  and  the  Division  of  Gardens 
and  Grounds  has  charge  of  the  ornamentation  of  the  part 
surrounding  the  department  building,  and  the  care  of  the 
conservatories  and  propagating  grounds. 

The  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  have 
a  circulation  that  would  turn  the  average  newspaper  and 
magazine  publisher  green  with  envy.  This  is  managed  by 
the  Division  of  Publications,  which  occupies  a  large  build- 
ing in  the  back  of  the  grounds,  and  which  is  always  packed 
full  of  printed  matter,  with  here  and  there  just  enough 
room  for  the  young  men  and  women  who  are  kept  busy 
directing  the  wrappers  and  preparing  the  publications  for 
the  mail.  These  publications  are  all  printed  at  the  govern- 
ment printing  office,  which  can  always  depend  upon  a  sup- 
ply of  "  copy"  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture  when  it 
runs  low  from  other  sources.  The  different  divisions 
together  issue  about  1,000  different  publications  during  a 
year,  aggregating  something  over  25,000  pages,  and  the 
total  number  of  copies  distributed  exceeds  7,000,000  a  year. 
Of  the  2,500,000  of  the  Farmers'  Bulletins  printed,  the  sen- 
ators and  representatives  take  nearly  one-half.  These  pam- 
phlets afford  the  best  means  of  disseminating  the  results  of 


AN  INSTRUCTIVE  AND  VARIED  EXHIBIT.  395 

the  department's  investigations.  These  as  well  as  the  more 
scientific  and  technical  publications  are  highly  prized  by  the 
agricultural  libraries  in  the  various  states. 

The  library  of  the  department  contains  about  TO, 000 
volumes,  most  of  them  of  a  strictly-agricultural  character. 
Under  proper  regulations  the  books  are  free  for  reference 
to  the  public.  One  of  the  many  buildings  devoted  to  the 
work  of  the  department  is  occupied  by  the  Agricultural 
Museum,  which  possesses  many  unique  features.  Long  cases 
contain  thousands  of  delicious-looking  fruits,  which  upon 
closer  examination  prove  to  be  wonderfully-accurate  wax 
models.  The  damage  wrought  by  many  kinds  of  insects 
upon  trees  and  plants  is  fully  illustrated,  while  there  is  an 
instructive  exhibit  of  mounted  birds,  squirrels,  and  other  ani- 
mals in  their  natural  surroundings,  showing  various  stages  in 
their  development  and  life  history,  especially  in  their  rela- 
tion to  agriculture.  The  processes  of  silk  culture,  the 
growth  of  hemp,  and  many  other  industries  of  like  nature 
are  fully  and  entertainingly  shown. 

While  in  this  chapter  we  have  investigated  some  of  the 
many  lines  of  work  in  this  the  youngest  of  the  government 
departments,  we  have  left  unnoticed  the  Weather  Bureau, 
one  of  the  most  important  activities  of  the  Bureau  of  Agri- 
culture, affecting  not  only  the  farmer  but  Uncle  Sam's  people 
generally.  To  that  interesting  subject  we  must  devote  a 
special  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE    WEATHER    BUREAU  —  FORECASTING    THE    WEATHER 

—  WONDERFUL    INSTRUMENTS,    KITES,    AND 

WEATHER  MAPS. 

Forecasting  the  Weather  —  Old  Theories  of  Storms  —  The  Path  of  Storms 
— '•  Old  Probabilities  '*  at  Home  —  General  Principles  of  Storms  —  In 
the  Forecasting-Room  —  A  Curious  Map  and  Its  Little  Tags—' 
"  Weather  Sharps"  at  Work  —  How  Weather  Observations  Are  Made 
—  Fair  and  Warmer"  and  "Partly  Cloudy"  —  Noting  the  Direction 
of  the  Wind  — Where  Storms  Are  First  Noticed  —  General  Move- 
ment of  Storms  — Traveling  600  Miles  a  Day  — "High"  Pressure 
and  "Low"  Pressure  —  Winter  Storms  —  Where  They  Originate  — 
Where  Hurricanes  Are  Bred  —  Hot  Waves  and  Cold  Waves  —  Import- 
ing Weather  from  Canada  —  Where  Storms  Disappear  —  Perplexing 
Problems  for  the  Forecaster  —  Predicting  Dangerous  Storms  — Warn- 
ings of  Danger  —  Emergency  Warnings  —  A  Visit  to  the  Instrument- 
Room —  Interesting  Experiments  with  Kites. 


,EW  persons  have  any  exact  knowledge  of  what 
the  Weather  Bureau  does,  or  how  it  does  it,  but 
nearly  every  one  is  interested  in  the  daily  report 
of  its  important  and  extensive  work,  which  is 
usually  quite  brief  and  occupies  an  inconspicuous 
though  regular  place  in  the  daily  papers. 
The  value  of  accurate  scientific  knowledge  on  a  subject 
which  affects,  vitally,  the  vast  agricultural  and  commercial 
interests  of  the  world,  as  well  as  the  physical  health  and 
spiritual  happiness  of  mankind,  cannot  be  overestimated. 
Think  of  the  millions  of  anxious  faces  that  have  turned  sky- 
ward since  the  earth  began,  to  see  "  if  it  looks  like  rain." 
Think  of  the  interrupted  plans,  of  injured  crops,  of  wrecks 

(396) 


ONE  OF  FRANKLIN'S  DISCOVERIES.  397 

that  strew  the  coast,  of  disaster  and  death  —  of  all  that 
might  have  been  prevented,  in  a  measure  at  least,  by  some 
forewarning  of  the  weather  indications. 

The  Weather  Bureau  of  the  United  States  is  the  greatest 
institution  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  While  meteorology  is 
as  old  as  Egypt,  practical  meteorology  is  still  in  its  swad- 
dling clothes,  for  it  required  more  than  the  thermometer  of 
Galileo,  and  the  barometer  of  Torricelli  to  make  it  useful  in 
forecasting  the  weather.  About  the  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  Benjamin  Franklin  made  observations  of 
storms,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  a  northeast  storm, 
instead  of  running  off  in  a  southwesterly  direction  as  it 
would  be  expected  to  do,  actually  moved  in  the  direction 
from  which  it  seemed  to  come.  From  this  he  formed  a 
theory,  which,  thoguh  very  important,  was  soon  forgotten, 
that  certain  storms  had  a  rotary  motion  and  moved  in 
a  northeasterly  direction.  Jefferson,  also,  was  fond  of 
observing  the  weather ;  and  he  recorded  the  reading  of  a 
thermometer  four  times  a  day,  not  omitting  July  4,  1776, 
which,  by  his  record,  was  a  cold  day  for  the  season,  the 
maximum  temperature  being  76  at  1  p.  M. 

The  first  Government  daily  weather  map  was  con- 
structed in  1853,  by  Prof.  Henry,  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. While  giving  no  forecasts,  he  used  his  large  map  to 
demonstrate  to  a  skeptical  Congress  the  feasibility  of  organ- 
izing a  Government  weather  service.  It  was  not  till  1870 
that  the  skepticism  of  Congress  was  overcome  and  a  resolu- 
tion passed  providing  for  a  Government  telegraph  weather 
service,  which  was  entrusted  to  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  War 
Department.  There  it  remained,  constantly  but  slowly 
developing  in  efficiency,  till  1891  when  it  was  transferred  to 
the  Agricultural  Department, 

So  clearly  has  the  work  of  the  bureau  demonstrated  its 
advantages  for  the  farmer,  the  navigator,  and  the  public  in 
general,  that  Congress  has  made  fair  provision  for  its  main- 


398  HOW   THE  WEATHER  IS  FORECASTED. 

tenance,  and  its  present  buildings  were  specially  designed 
for  its  work.  The  main  building  presents  a  fine  appearance, 
and  its  character  is  revealed  at  once  by  the  signal  flags 
which  flutter  above  it,  the  whirling  anemometers,  and  a 
superstructure  for  other  curious  instruments  for  measuring 
the  precipitation,  and  so  on,  all  of  which  devices  are  con- 
nected by  wire  with  the  most  perfect  registering  instru- 
ments that  can  be  designed.  In  this  building  are  the  offices 
of  the  bureau  in  which  the  expert  work  of  forecasting  the 
weather  is  done.  The  bureau  costs  over  $1,000,000  a  year. 

The  wide  scope  of  the  system  of  observation  which  cen- 
ters here,  is  revealed  by  a  glance  at  the  immense  map  of  the 
United  States  which  hangs  on  one  of  the  walls  of  the  office 
of  the  Chief  of  the  bureau.  The  surface  of  this  big  map  is 
dotted  with  over  200  little  tags,  each  indicating  a  weather 
station  and  containing  data  as  to  its  working  force.  There 
are  many  similar  weather  stations  throughout  Canada  and 
Mexico,  having  a  system  of  exchanging  reports  with  the 
Washington  Bureau,  as  well  as  several  stations  in  the  West 
Indies, —  that  inveterate  breeder  of  hurricanes. 

The  whole  weather  system  covers  an  area  extending 
2,000  miles  north  and  south,  and  3,000  miles  east  and  west. 
Each  of  these  stations  is  fully  equipped  with  the  necessary 
instruments,  not  only  for  keeping  a  constant  and  permanent 
record  of  all  weather  changes  but  for  taking  special  obser- 
vations at  any  time.  All  are  situated  on  telegraphic  cir- 
cuits, centering  in  the  Washington  Bureau.  The  telegraphic 
weather  reports  have  the  right  of  way  over  all  other  tele- 
graphic business.  Twice  a  day,  precisely  at  8  o'clock  A.  M. 
and  8  o'clock  p.  M.  of  Eastern  time,  the  "  weather  sharps  " 
in  these  two  hundred  and  more  stations,  all  do  precisely  the 
same  thing  —  examine  their  barometers,  thermometers, 
anemometers,  etc.,  and  they  at  once  telegraph  to  Washing- 
ton the  details  in  their  respective  localities  as  to  atmo- 
spheric pressure,  temperature,  wind  velocity,  and  direction, 


MESSAGES  FROM  THE  WEATHER  STATIONS.  399 

cloud  conditions,  and  rainfall,  if  any.  Then  follows  an 
interesting  scene  in  the  long  forecasting-room  of  the  bureau 
at  Washington. 

On  high  desks  at  one  end  of  this  well-appointed  room 
are  arranged  a  series  of  skeleton  maps  of  the  United  States, 
each  weather  station  being  designated  thereon  by  a  little 
circle  about  the  size  of  a  pea.  One  of  these  maps  —  the  one 
of  chief  value  to  the  forecaster  —  is  arranged  to  receive  all 
the  data;  another  shows  the  change  in  temperature,  the 
maximum  and  minimum  at  each  station  with  changes  from 
the  day  before  and  changes  from  the  normal;  another 
shows  changes  in  the  barometer;  another  indicates  the 
character,  quantity,  and  movement  of  the  clouds ;  and  still 
another  shows  the  dry -bulb  and  wet-bulb  temperatures  with 
differences  between  the  two.  It  should  be  explained  that 
the  wet-bulb  thermometer  is  covered  with  a  moist  surface, 
and  the  evaporation  from  this,  if  the  air  is  not  saturated 
with  moisture,  is  more  rapid  than  from  the  dry-bulb,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  relative  amount  of  water  in  the  air ;  the 
difference  of  temperature  between  the  readings  of  these  two 
instruments  therefore  suffices  to  compute  the  relative 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere. 

As  the  telegraphic  returns  come  in,  at  each  of  the  maps 
stands  one  of  the  forecasting  force,  pencil  in  hand.  Near 
by  stands  the  reader  of  the  messages  which  to  the  uninitiated 
mean  absolutely  nothing.  In  order  to  save  time  and  tele- 
graph bills,  the  bureau  has  invented  a  simple  though  very 
effective  cipher,  whereby,  through  an  arrangement  of  vowels 
and  consonants,  all  the  elaborate  data  of  a  weather-message 
is  compressed  into  a  sentence  of  a  few  words.  For  example, 
a  message  may  read  like  this  r 

"Paul  nomen  gessie  enough  surer  ceiling? 

This  tells  the  temperature,  high  and  low,  the  barometer, 
the  wind  direction  and  velocity,  and  other  details  about  the 


400  "WEATHER  SHARPS"  AT  THEIR  WORK. 

weather  conditions  at  St.  Paul  station.  As  this  message  is 
read,  the  forecasters  at  their  maps  instantly  refer  to  the  state 
of  Minnesota,  and,  in  the  St.  Paul  circle  and  about  it,  jot 
down  the  various  figures. 

Meantime,  in  an  adjoining  corner  of  the  room,  another 
interesting  process  is  in  progress.  Three  printers  stand  at 
their  cases,  which,  instead  of  holding  types,  hold  certain  ster- 
eotyped words  and  phrases  which  the  weather  bureau  is 
always  using,  like  "fair  and  warmer,"  "  partly  cloudy," 
"  rain,"  "  snow,"  and  so  on,  besides  grouped  figures  which  are 
in  constant  use.  Thus,  as  fast  as  the  messages  are  read,  the 
printers  are  putting  into  type  important  data  from  them  for 
a  reference  table  which  is  to  occupy  one  corner  of  the  com- 
pleted weather  map  of  the  entire  country  for  this  hour. 

All  reports  having  been  read,  the  experts  at  the  maps 
have  under  their  trained  eyes  a  complete  synoptic  panorama 
of  the  wind  and  weather  of  the  greater  part  of  North  America. 
By  noting  the  barometric  returns,  they  observe  great  areas 
of  high  and  low  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  and  reference  to 
the  maps  of  preceding  observations  enables  them  at  once  to 
note  the  changes  in  these  areas  winding  through  the  states- 
To  define  these  areas  the  expert  draws  solid  snake-like 
lines —  called  isobars  —  between  the  high  and  low  areas. 
Similar  lines  called  isotherms  define  the  areas  of  differing 
temperature,  and  separate  lines  are  drawn  for  each  change 
of  a  tenth  of  an  inch  in  the  barometer  and  ten  degrees  in  the 
thermometer.  The  direction  of  the  wind  at  each  station  is 
indicated  by  an  arrow  flying  with  the  wind.  The  state  of 
the  weather  —  whether  clear,  partly  cloudy,  cloudy,  raining 
or  snowing  —  is  indicated  by  the  strength  of  the  shading  in 
the  little  circles  representing  the  various  stations ;  and  thus, 
to  the  trained  eye,  and  even  to  the  eye  of  the  novice,  there 
appear  on  the  maps  great  areas  of  clouds,  of  sunshine,  of 
rain  or  snow,  and  by  comparison  with  previous  maps  it  can 
be  seen  whither  these  storms  are  moving  and  how  fast. 


THE  LAWS  OF  STORMS.  401 

Thus,  within  a  few  minutes  after  the  clocks  in  the  Eastern 
time  belt  are  striking  the  hour  of  eight,  the  weather  of  a 
great  continent  lies  under  the  eyes  of  the  forecasters  at 
Washington. 

These  curious-looking  maps  would  be  of  little  value,  how- 
ever, in  making  forecasts  without  long  experience  in  tracing 
the  effects  of  such  conditions,  and  repeatedly  establishing 
the  relation  between  them.  A  general  knowledge  of  meteor- 
ological phenomena  is  essential.  It  is  known  that  storms 
have  a  circular  area,  and  generally  advance  in  an  easterly 
direction,  bearing  a  low  barometric  pressure  with  them. 
Storms  are  first  noticed  in  the  upper  regions  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  in  front  of  them  the  air  is  warm  and  humid,  and, 
in  the  rear,  cool  and  dry.  The  general  storm  movement  in, 
the  United  States  is  similar  to  a  series  of  atmospheric  waves 
of  which  the  crests  are  designated  as  "  Highs  "  on  the  maps 
and  the  depressions  as  "  Lows."  These  waves  have  an  aver- 
age easterly  movement  of  about  600  miles  per  day. 

As  a  rule  the  more  general  storms  of  the  country  can  be 
detected  during  their  inception  in  high  altitudes  of  the  far 
West  and  studied  as  they  come  down  to  sea  level  in  the 
Mississippi  valley  and  progress  towards  the  Atlantic.  The 
great  winter  storms  originating  somewhere  near  our  new  pos- 
sessions, the  Philippines,  are  detected  when  they  reach  the 
Pacific  coast,  whence,  over  the  Rockies,  they  sweep  across 
the  country  in  three  or  four  days  and  off  over  the  Atlantic, 
to  be  heard  from  three  or  four  days  later  in  Europe.  The 
great  high  pressure  areas  which  constitute  our  cold  waves  are 
largely  imported  from  the  northwestern  provinces  of  Canada, 
but,  contrary  to  popular  belief,  they  do  not  bring  the  cold 
air  of  Canada  with  them.  Their  frigidity  is  entirely  a  result 
of  their  motion;  they  are  high-pressure  eddies,  and  their 
vortical  motion  as  they  travel  along  is  constantly  bringing 
down  the  cold  air  from  above. 

These  are  some  of  the  general  principles  in  which  the 


402  GUARDING  AGAINST  MARINE  DISASTERS. 

expert  forecaster  is  footed  and  grounded ;  but  he  has  also 
learned  that  the  weather  is  too  slippery  an  article  to  abide 
always  by  general  principles.  Storms  often  insist  on  having 
a  striking  individuality  of  their  own,  and  the  forecaster  has 
learned  to  take  into  consideration  special  conditions  which 
seem  to  account  for  these  freaks.  Forces  not  indicated  on 
the  surface  will  sometimes  appear  and  the  storm  pursue  a 
path  divergent  from  the  normal  for  the  location  and  the 
season.  This  complicates  the  problem  always,  for  the  fore- 
caster is  expected  to  tell  in  what  general  direction  a  storm 
will  move.  It  will  not  add  to  his  reputation  as  a  weather 
prophet  to  predict  bad  weather  for  a  certain  locality  if  the 
storm  whirls  off  to  another  locality  for  which  he  has  pre- 
dicted fair  weather.  The  barometric  depression  is  always 
spread  over  a  larger  surface  than  the  storm  that  accompanies 
it.  The  real  problem  in  making  local  predictions  is :  Given 
the  data  on  his  map  with  indications  of  a  storm  approaching 
in  a  certain  direction,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  special  condi- 
tions attending  it,  to  determine,  not  simply  the  probable 
area  over  which  it  will  move,  but  the  precise  localities  which 
will  be  reached,  and  which  of  them  will  escape.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  mistakes  are  made  in  local  predictions;  the 
miracle  is  that  they  are  so  often  correct. 

But,  after  all,  the  real  value  of  the  Weather  Bureau  lies 
more  in  its  predictions  of  really  dangerous  storms  several 
hours  in  advance,  predictions  nearly  always  correct,  than  in 
foretelling  the  precise  weather  for  specific  localities  under 
moderate  conditions,  in  which  the  bureau  is  often  wrong. 
Of  the  many  West  Indian  hurricanes  which  have  swept  up 
the  Atlantic  coast  in  recent  years  not  one  has  reached  a 
single  seaport  without  danger  warnings  having  been  sent 
well  in  advance  of  the  storm,  and  the  result  has  been  a  great 
decrease  in  marine  disasters.  Marine  property  owners  have 
estimated  that  one  of  these  storms  in  the  absence  of  danger 
signals  would  leave  not  less  than  3,000,000  dollars  worth 


HOW  WEATHER  NEWS  IS  DISSEMINATED.  403 

of  wreckage  in  its  path.  On  two  occasions  a  census 
was  taken  immediately  after  the  passage  of  severe  hurri- 
canes to  determine  the  value  of  property  held  in  port  by 
danger  warnings  of  the  bureau,  and  in  one  case  the  figure 
was  placed  at  $34,000,000,  and  in  another  at  $38,000,000. 

The  Weather  Bureau  employs  persons  at  various  points 
on  the  great  river  systems  of  the  country,  and  particularly 
about  the  headwaters,  in  reporting  any  marked  variation  in 
the  water  level.  The  government  is  thus  enabled  to  send 
timely  warning  of  a  threatened  rise  in  the  great  rivers  below 
headwaters,  whereby  much  property  has  been  saved,  espe- 
cially on  the  Mississippi  system. 

Formerly  the  local  forecasts  were  made  by  the  observer 
in  his  district  from  the  reports  taken  off  the  wire  on  his  cir- 
cuit on  their  way  to  Washington.  It  was  for  a  time  supposed 
that  the  local  observer  would  be  better  able  to  forecast  the 
weather  in  his  own  vicinity  than  the  Washington  office. 
After  an  extensive  trial,  however,  it  was  found  that  the 
Washington  forecasts  verified  four  or  five  per  cent,  better 
than  the  local  forecasts,  and  the  latter  were  accordingly  dis- 
continued, all  being  now  prepared  at  Washington. 

The  bureau  has  its  own  plant  for  printing,  and  in  less 
than  two  hours  after  the  receipt  of  reports  presses  are  busy 
striking  off  the  maps  with  which  the  public  is  familiar. 
Obviously,  to  be  of  value,  these  maps  must  be  distributed 
within  a  few  hours  after  the  observation.  Hence  plants  for  the 
prompt  publication  of  maps  identical  with  those  produced  at 
headquarters,  are  located  at  good  distributing  points  in 
various  sections  of  the  country.  No  such  center  of  distribu- 
tion can  have  an  effective  radius  of  much  more  than  300 
miles.  The  distribution  of  the  morning  forecast  begins  in 
less  than  two  hours  after  the  observations  are  made,  first  by 
telegraph  and  telephone  to  about  1,000  centers  of  distribu 
tion,  thence  by  telephone,  mail,  and  railway  service  to  more 
than  75,000  addresses,  the  greater  part  being  delivered  in 


404  INGENIOUS  AND  DELICATE  INSTRUMENTS. 

the  forenoon,  and  none  later  than  6  p.  M.  The  forecasts  are 
also  telegraphed  to  about  1,000  additional  places,  to  be  com- 
municated to  the  public  by  flags  and  sound  signals. 

There  is  also  a  system  of  distribution  by  which  more  than 
8,000  stations  are  furnished  with  reports  by  telegraph  at 
government  expense,  and,  as  occasion  may  justify,  with  the 
"emergency  warnings"  of  hurricanes,  cold  waves,  freshets, 
frosts,  or  local  storms  of  unusual  severity.  With  such  a 
widespread  and  effective  system  there  is  scarcely  a  commu- 
nity in  the  United  States  which  does  not  receive  the  benefit 
of  the  forecasts  promptly,  even  if  they  are  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  daily  paper.  The  maps  are  made  only  from 
the  morning  forecasts,  which  appear  in  the  evening  papers. 
The  evening  forecasts  appear  in  the  morning  papers. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  rooms  in  the  bureau  office  is 
that  devoted  to  the  instruments.  Here  on  a  long  table  are 
remarkable  and  extremely  delicate  self-registering  instru- 
ments, each  registering  a  peculiar  line  indicating  a  certain 
meteorological  condition.  All  are  in  connection  with  appar- 
atus outside,  and  indicate  their  measurement  through  com- 
binations of  clockwork  and  the  electric  current.  One  of 
these  instruments  registers  on  a  sheet  of  paper  no  larger 
than  a  page  of  this  book  the  pressure,  temperature,  humidity, 
wind  velocity,  and  the  condition  of  the  sky  for  every  moment 
of  the  twenty-four  hours.  The  slightest  change  is  indicated 
by  a  change  in  the  tracing  pens.  A  similar  instrument  is 
for  use  on  kites,  being  exceedingly  compact,  most  of  its 
parts  being  made  of  aluminum,  so  that  its  weight,  case  and 
all,  does  not  exceed  two  pounds.  One  of  the  bureau's  enor- 
mous kites  will  always  be  found  decorating  the  ceiling  of 
the  instrument-room.  They  are  constructed  with  great 
nicety  after  the  approved  pattern. 

Experimental  work  with  kites  was  begun  in  1898,  in  the 
hopes  of  discovering  in  the  conditions  of  the  upper  regions 
of  the  atmosphere  principles  wrhereby  forecasts  may  be  more 


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TIDINGS  FROM   THE  REALMS   OF  AIR.  407 

accurately  made,  and  for  a  longer  period  in  advance.  The 
scientists  of  the  Weather  Bureau  realize  that  with  the  pres- 
ent appliances  for  forecasting,  the  limits  for  further  develop- 
ment are  narrow.  New  discoveries  must  be  made  and  new 
realms  invaded  before  the  present  character  of  the  forecasts 
can  be  much  improved. 

It  was  in  the  hope  of  new  discoveries  that  the  bureau 
perfected  instruments  to  be  carried  by  kites  into  the  upper 
regions  of  air.  In  some  of  its  experiments,  which  are  usual- 
ly conducted  at  Fort  Meyer  across  the  Potomac,  a  single 
kite  has  ascended  to  8,000  feet,  and  several  kites  in  series 
have  risen  to  14,000  feet;  and  the  records  of  the  delicate 
meteorographs  carried  to  these  high  altitudes  have  suggested 
important  possibilities  which  may  result  in  new  wonders 
any  day.  Among  other  things  which  these  experiments 
have  shown  is  that  in  our  summer  season  we  live  in  an  ex- 
tremely thin  stratum  of  warm  air.  In  the  hottest  day  the 
thermometer  on  a  kite  indicates  that  it  is  delightfully  cool 
1,000  feet  above  us.  Moreover,  the  changes  in  wind  and 
temperature  always  begin  at  high  levels  sooner  than  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  it  is  one  of  the  practical  dreams  of 
the  weather  experts  to  some  day  have  kites  at  important 
stations,  so  as  always  to  be  in  touch  with  the  upper  regions 
of  the  atmosphere. 


CHAPTEK  XXY. 

[N  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE  — THE  PRESIDENT'S  LAW- 
YER  — THE    SUPREME    COURT    AND    ITS    BLACK- 
ROBED    DIGNITARIES  —  THE    HEAVEN 
OF   LEGAL  AMBITION. 

The  Majesty  of  the  Law  —  The  Department  of  Justice — Duties  of  the 
Attorney-General  —  The  President's  Lawyer  —  Claims  Involving  Mil- 
lions of  Dollars  —  The  Highest  Legal  Tribunal  of  the  Nation  —  The 
Supreme  Court-Room  —  Giants  of  the  Past  —  The  Battle  Ground  of 
Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun  —  Wise  and  Silent  Judges  —  Where 
Silence  and  Dignity  Reign  —  The  Technical  "Bench"  —  Illustrious 
Names  —  Why  the  Bust  of  Chief-Justice  Taney  Was  Long  Excluded 
from  the  Supreme  Court-Room  —  The  Famous  Dred  Scott  Decision  — 
Its  Far-Reaching  Effect  —  A  Sad  Figure  —  Death  Conies  to  His  Relief 
—  Sumner's  Relentless  Opposition  —  Black-Robed  Dignitaries  —  Cere- 
monious Opening  of  the  Court  —  An  Antique  Little  Speech  —  Gowns 
or  Wigs?  —  Jefferson's  Comical  Protest  —  The  Robing  and  Consulta- 
tion-Rooms—  Salaries  of  the  Justices  —  A  Great  Law  Library  — Sug- 
gestions of  a  Tragedy. 


through  everything  pertaining  to  the 
government  is  the  inevitable  network  of  Law. 
In  every  department  the  executive  head  acts 
strictly  by  Law;  the  work  of  every  division  is 
mapped  out  to  conform  to  the  Law ;  soldiers  are  re- 
cruited, sailors  are  instructed,  patents  and  pensions  are 
granted,  money  is  printed,  birds  are  dissected,  and  seeds  are 
distributed  by  Law.  On  the  desk  of  every  official  of  im- 
portance lies  a  digest  of  the  Law,  and  he  works  with  one 
eye  ever  upon  it.  If  you  suggest  that  in  any  particular  case 
the  end  can  be  accomplished  much  sooner  and  better  in  a  cer- 

(408) 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  LAWYER.  409 

tain  way,  he  opens  his  book  and  points  to  the  Law  which 
says  it  must  be  done  so  and  so,  and  that  settles  the  process 
even  if  it  never  settles  the  case.  The  Law  is  the  warp  and 
woof  of  everything,  and  naturally  the  Department  of  Jus- 
tice has  operated  from  the  first. 

The  Supreme  Court  was  provided  for  in  the  Constitution, 
but  the  same  act  which  established  and  defined  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  courts  of  the  United  States  provided  for  an 
Attorney-General,  who  from  the  first  became  a  member  of 
the  President's  Cabinet.  But  while  thus  ranking  fourth  in 
that  official  body,  his  duties  were  few  during  the  first  years 
of  the  government ;  he  attended  to  his  private  practice,  and 
it  was  not  till  1814  that  he  was  required  by  law  to  reside  at 
"Washington,  and  not  till  1870  that  the  Department  of  Jus- 
tice in  its  present  form  was  established,  with  the  Attorney- 
General  as  its  chief  officer. 

His  duties  are  best  summed  up  by  saying  that  he  is  the 
President's  lawyer.  The  President  is  charged  with  execut- 
ing all  laws,  and  the  Attorney- General  gives  his  advice  and 
opinion,  when  asked,  either  to  the  President  or  to  the  head 
of  any  executive  department.  He  represents  the  govern- 
ment where  questions  of  land  or  rents  are  concerned,  and 
determines  the  validity  of  titles  to  real  estate  purchased  by 
the  government.  Either  House  of  Congress  may  call  upon 
him  for  information  on  any  matter  within  the  scope  of  his 
office.  While  it  is  always  understood  that  neither  the  Pres- 
ident nor  his  Secretaries  are  necessarily  guided  by  his  opin- 
ions, in  practice  they  are.  It  is  a  settled  rule  that  he  has  no 
right  to  give  an  opinion  in  any  other  cases  than  those  in 
which  the  statutes  make  it  his  duty  to  give  it.  He  is  as 
much  controlled  as  anyone  by  the  laws  he  interprets. 

His  official  force  consists  of  a  Solicitor-General  who  is 
next  in  rank,  and  in  his  absence  the  acting  head  of  the  de- 
partment ;  four  Assistant  Attorney-Generals  and  ten  assis- 
tant attorneys,  all  having  their  offices  in  the  Department  o/ 


410  THE  HIGHEST  TRIBUNAL  OF  THE  NATION. 

Justice  building.  In  addition,  there  are  the  following  officers 
who,  though  belonging  to  the  Department  of  Justice,  serve 
also  in  other  departments :  —  A  Solicitor  and  Assistant- 
Solicitor  of  the  Treasury,  a  Solicitor  of  Internal  Revenue, 
a  Solicitor  of  the  State  Department,  an  Assistant  Attorney- 
General  of  the  Post-Office  Department,  and  one  for  the 
Interior  Department. 

Much  of  the  work  of  the  department  is  before  the  Court 
of  Claims,  which  was  instituted  in  1855  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine claims  against  the  government  and  to  report  the  facts 
to  Congress.  In  1863  this  court  was  authorized  to  render 
final  judgment  with  right  of  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
It  has  five  judges,  and  there  are  always  pending  before  it 
claims  involving  millions  of  dollars.  In  all  these  cases  the 
government  is  represented  by  the  Attorney-General. 

The  Department  of  Justice  is  but  a  section  of  the  execu- 
tive branch  of  the  government,  but  the  Judiciary  ranks  with 
the  President  and  with  Congress  as  one  of  the  great  branches 
of  the  government,  and  unlike  them  it  is  removed  as  far  as 
men  can  be  from  the  influence  of  human  and  political  pas- 
sions and  prejudices. 

The  Supreme  Court  is  the  highest  legal  tribunal  of  the 
nation.  After  the  completion  of  the  Senate  wing  of  the 
Capitol,  the  old  Senate  Chamber  was  converted  into  the 
present  Supreme  Court-room ;  one  of  the  few  rooms  in  the 
Capitol  wherein  harmony  and  beauty  meet  and  mingle. 
Here  Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun,  and  other  giants  of  the 
past,  once  held  high  conclave.  Defiance  and  defeat,  battle 
and  triumph,  argument  and  oratory,  wisdom  and  folly  once 
held  here  their  court.  It  is  now  the  chamber  of  peace. 
Tangled  questions  concerning  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
personal  happiness  are  still  argued  within  these  walls,  but 
never  in  tones  that  would  drown  the  sound  of  a  dropping 
pin.  Every  thought  is  weighed,  every  word  measured,  that 
is  uttered  here.  The  Judges  who  sit  in  silence  to  listen  and 


IN  THE  CHAMBER  OF  JUDGMENT.          411 

decide  have  outlived  the  tumult  of  youth  and  the  summer  of 
manhood's  fiercer  battles.  They  have  earned  fruition  ;  they 
have  won  their  gowns  —  which  they  can  wear  until  they 
reach  the  age  of  70,  when  they  become  eligible  for  retire- 
ment, a  wise  provision  for  their  comfort  after  the  infirmity 
of  age  unfits  them  for  the  weighty  responsibilities  of  this 
high  tribunal. 

In  the  court-room  itself  we  seem  to  have  reached  an 
atmosphere  where  it  is  always  afternoon.  The  door  swings 
to  and  fro  noiselessly  at  the  gentle  touch  of  the  usher's 
hand.  With  soundless  tread  the  spectators  move  to  their 
cushioned  seats  ranged  against  the  inner  wall  over  the  rich, 
well-padded,  crimson  carpet  which  covers  the  tiled  floor  of 
this  august  chamber.  A  single  lawyer  arguing  some  consti- 
tutional question  drones  on  within  the  railed  inclosure  of  the 
court ;  or  a  single  judge  in  measured  tones  mumbles  over 
the  pages  of  his  learned  decision  in  some  case  long  drawn 
out.  Unless  you  are  deeply  interested  in  it  you  will  not 
stay  long.  The  atmosphere  is  too  soporific ;  one  wearies  of 
the  oppressive  silence  and  absolute  decorum. 

The  chamber  itself  is  semi-circular,  with  windows  crim- 
son-curtained. It  has  a  domed  ceiling  studded  with  stuccoed 
mouldings  and  skylights.  The  technical  "Bench"  of  the 
Supreme  Court  is  a  row  of  leather-backed  arm-chairs  ranged 
in  a  row  on  a  low  dais.  The  chair  of  the  Chief  Justice  is 
in  the  center;  those  of  the  eight  Associate  Justices  are 
on  each  side.  Over  the  chair  of  the  Chief  Justice  a  gilt 
eagle  perches  upon  a  golden  rod.  Over  this  eagle  and 
parallel  with  the  bench  below,  runs  a  shallow  gallery,  from 
which  many  fine  ladies  of  successive  administrations  have 
looked  down  on  the  Solons  below.  At  intervals  around  the 
walls  are  brackets  on  which  are  placed  marble  busts  of 
former  Chief  Justices:  John  Jay  of  New  York,  1789-1795; 
John  Eutledge  of  South  Carolina,  1795-1796 ;  Oliver  Ells- 
worth of  Connecticut,  1796-1800;  John  Marshall  of  Yir- 


412  TANEY'S  INFAMOUS  DECISION. 

ginia,  1801-1835 ;  Eoger  B.  Taney  of  Maryland,  1836-1864; 
Salmon  P.  Chase  of  Ohio,  1864-1873 ;  Morrison  K.  Waite  of 
Ohio,  1874-1888.  Chief  Justice  Taney's  bust  for  years  was 
left  out  in  the  cold  on  a  pedestal  within  a  recess  of  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  Senate  wing.  It  was  voted  in  the  Sen- 
ate that  it  should  there  wait  a  certain  number  of  expiatory 
years  until  in  the  fulness  of  time  it  should  be  sufficiently 
absolved  to  enter  the  historic  heaven  of  its  brethren. 

Eoger  Brooke  Taney  was  a  prominent  Maryland  lawyer 
and  an  active  democratic  politician,  and  was  Attorney-Gen- 
eral in  Jackson's  administration.  In  1835  Jackson,  who  was 
extremely  friendly  to  Taney,  nominated  him  as  an  Associate- 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  his  nomination  was  op- 
posed by  the  Senate.  On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Mar- 
shall, in  the  same  year,  Taney  was  confirmed,  but  by  a  very 
small  majority  of  votes.  For  twenty-eight  years  he  sat  in 
the  Chief  Justice's  chair  and  proved  himself  to  be  a  jurist  of 
learning  and  ability.  Indeed,  it  has  been  asserted  that  he 
would  rank  next  to  the  great  jurist  Marshall  in  the  pages  of 
history  but  for  his  decision,  in  1857,  in  the  "Dred  Scott 
Case,"  a  decision  that  shocked  the  humanity  of  the  civilized 
world. 

Dred  Scott  was  a  negro  slave  then  living  in  Missouri, 
and  was  owned  by  an  army  officer.  On  one  occasion  his 
owner  had  taken  him  into  a  Free  State,  which  act,  it  was 
claimed,  entitled  the  slave  to  his  liberty.  Subsequently 
Scott  was  taken  back  to  Missouri,  and  he  thereupon  sued 
for  his  freedom.  The  case  created  intense  interest,  was 
desperately  fought  in  the  lower  courts,  and  finally  carried 
up  to  the  Supreme  Court,  then  presided  over  by  Taney,  who 
was  himself  a  slaveholder.  In  his  decision,  which  was  ad- 
verse to  Scott,  Taney  declared  that  persons  of  African 
blood  were  not  regarded  by  the  Constitution  as  anything 
but  mere  property ;  that  they  had  no  status  as  citizens,  and 
could  not  be  sued  in  any  court;  that  prior  to  the  Declara- 


THE  MAN  WHO   HASTENED  THE  CIVIL   WAR.  413 

tion  of  Independence,  negroes  were  regarded  as  "  so  far  in- 
ferior that  they  had  no  rights  a  white  man  was  bound  to 
respect."  After  this  cruel  decision  the  Abolition  party 
grew  with  amazing  rapidity,  and  three  years  later  the  Civil 
War  followed. 

"  There  was.  no  sadder  figure  to  be  seen  in  Washington 
during  the  years  of  the  Civil  War  than  that  of  the  aged 
Chief  Justice.  His  form  was  bent  by  the  weight  of  years, 
and  his  thin,  nervous,  and  deeply-furrowed  face  was  shaded 
by  long,  gray  locks,  and  lighted  up  by  large,  melancholy 
eyes  that  looked  wearily  out  from  under  shaggy  brows, 
which  gave  him  a  weird,  wizard-like  expression.  He  had 
outlived  his  epoch,  and  was  shunned  and  hated  by  the  men 
of  the  new  time  of  storm  and  struggle  for  the  principles  of 
freedom  and  nationality.  He  died  poor,  and  two  of  his 
daughters  supported  themselves  for  years  by  working  in  the 
Treasury  Department.  After  his  death,  and  during  the 
years  that  his  bust  was  excluded  from  its  place  among  the 
Chief  Justices  on  the  wall  of  the  Court-room,  Charles  Sum- 
ner  watched  every  appropriation  bill  to  prevent  an  item 
being  included  to  authorize  its  purchase.  When  Sumner 
died,  there  was  no  further  opposition  to  paying  for  it  and 
giving  it  its  proper  place." 

During  the  session  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  hour  of 
meeting  is  at  noon.  Precisely  at  that  hour  a  procession  of 
black-silk-robed  dignitaries  may  be  seen  wending  their  way 
from  the  robing-rooin  to  the  Supreme  Court-room.  They 
are  preceded  by  the  Marshal,  who,  entering  by  a  side-door, 
leads  directly  to  the  Judge's  stand,  and,  pausing  before  the 
desk,  exclaims: 

"  The  Honorable  the  Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices 
of  the  Supreme  Cou'rt  of  the  United  States." 

With  these  words  all  present  rise  and  stand  to  receive 
the  Justices  filing  in.  Each  Justice  passes  to  his  chair. 
The  Judges  bow  to  the  lawyers;  the  lawyers  bow  to  the 


414        DIGNITY   AND  ORDER  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

Judges ;  then  all  sit  down.  The  Crier  then  opens  the  Court 
with  these  words : 

"  Oyez !  Oyez !  Oyez !  All  persons  having  business  with 
the  Honorable  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  are 
admonished  to  draw  near  and  give  their  attendance,  as  the 
Court  is  now  sitting.  God  save  the  United  States  and  this 
Honorable  Court." 

At  the  close  of  this  antique  little  speech,  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice motions  to  the  lawyer  whose  case  is  to  be  argued,  and 
that  gentleman  rises,  advances  to  the  front,  and  begins  his 
argument. 

The  chairs  of  the  Judges  are  all  placed  in  the  order  of 
their  date  of  appointment.  On  either  side  of  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice sit  the  senior  Associate  Justices,  while  the  last  appointed 
sit  at  the  farther  ends  of  each  row.  In  the  robing-room, 
their  robes  and  coats  and  hats  hang  in  the  same  order.  In 
the  consultation-room,  where  the  Justices  meet  on  Saturdays 
to  consult  together  over  important  cases  presented,  their 
chairs  around  the  table  are  arranged  in  the  same  order,  the 
Chief  Justice  presiding  at  the  head.  Both  rooms  command 
beautiful  views  from  their  windows  of  the  city,  the  Potomac, 
and  the  hills  of  Virginia.  In  the  robing-room,  the  Justices 
exhange  their  civic  dress  for  the  high  robes  of  office. 

The  selection  of  a  court-dress  agitated  the  minds  of  pub- 
lic men  when  the  first  Justices  of  the  court  had  been  named 
by  "Washington.  Sentiment  was  divided ;  and  whether  the 
Justices  should  wear  gowns,  and,  if  so,  whether  they  should 
be  those  of  the  scholar,  the  Roman  senator,  or  the  priest, 
and  also  whether  they  should  wear  the  wig  of  the  English 
Judges,  became  burning  questions.  Jefferson  protested 
against  any  unnecessary  court-dress,  and  especially  against 
wearing  a  wig.  He  said :  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  discard  the 
monstrous  wig,  which  makes  the  English  Judges  look  like 
rats  peeping  through  bunches  of  oakum."  Hamilton  advo- 
cated both  wig  and  gown.  Finally,  after  much  debate,  the 


HOW  THE  JUDGES  HOLD  THEIR  OFFICE.  415 

gown  alone  was  adopted,  as  tending  "to  preserve  in  the 
Court-room  that  decorum  and  sense  of  solemnity  which 
should  always  characterize  the  place  of  Judgment."  The 
gowns  are  made  of  black  silk  or  satin,  and  are  almost  iden- 
tical with  the  silk  robe  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  The 
gown  worn  by  Justice  McLean  still  hangs  upon  its  hook  as 
when  he  hung  it  there  for  the  last  time  —  years  and  years 
ago. 

Nine  Justices  now  compose  the  Supreme  Court,  all  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 
The  Chief  Justice  presides  in  court,  and  receives  a  salary  of 
$10,500  per  annum.  Melville  Weston  Fuller,  of  Illinois,  ap- 
pointed in  1888  to  succeed  Chief  Justice  Waite,  is  the  pres- 
ent incumbent  of  the  office.  The  Associate  Justices  receive 
$10,000  each  per  annum.  The  Constitution  distinctly  says 
that  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  Avell  as  all  the 
Judges  of  the  lower  United  States  courts,  "  shall  hold  their 
offices  during  good  behavior."  But  it  is  commonly  under- 
stood that  they  shall  hold  them  for  life  unless  removed 
from  office  by  impeachment.  But  inasmuch  as  old  age 
does  incapacitate,  and  a  judge  might  hold  on  to  his  office 
after  he  was  unable  to  perform  his  duties,  Congress  passed 
a  law  providing  that  any  justice  or  judge  who  has  served 
ten  years  and  has  reached  the  age  of  70,  may  voluntarily  re- 
tire, and  in  that  event  shall  receive  the  full  salary  of  his 
office  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  consultation-room  is  across  the  hall  from  the  Law 
Library,  whose  books  are  in  constant  demand  by  the  law- 
yers and  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Law  Library 
consists  of  85,000  volumes.  It  contains  every  volume  of 
English,  Irish,  and  Scotch  reports,  besides  the  American: 
an  immense  collection  of  case  law,  a  complete  collection  oi 
the  statutes  of  all  civilized  countries  since  1649,  filling  one 
hundred  quarto  volumes.  It  includes  the  first  edition  oi 
Blackstone's  Commentaries,  an  original  edition  of  the  report 


416  THE  BEST  LAW  LIBRARY  IN  THE  WORLD. 

of  the  trial  of  Cagliostro,  Bohan,  and  La  Motte,  for  the  theft 
of  Marie  Antoinette's  diamond  necklace  —  that  luckless 
bauble  which  fanned  to  such  fury  the  fatal  flames  of  the 
Eevolution.  The  nucleus  of  this  Library,  conceded  to  be 
the  finest  in  the  world,  was  the  Jefferson  collection  of  a 
little  more  than  600  volumes. 

The  quarters  of  the  Law  Library  are  in  the  basement- 
room  of  the  Capitol,  a  beautiful  room,  of  which  the  arches 
of  the  ceiling  rest  upon  immense  Doric  columns.  The  span- 
drels of  the  arches  are  filled  in  with  solid  masonry  —  blocks 
of  sandstone,  strong  enough  to  support  the  whole  Capitol, 
fill  the  space  between  the  arches.  There  is  the  suggestion 
of  tragedy  in  their  strength,  when  we  are  told  that  the  arch 
above  fell  once,  burying  and  killing  beneath  it  its  designer, 
Mr.  Lenthal.  The  plan  of  his  arch  in  proportion  to  its 
height  was  pronounced  unsafe  by  all  who  examined  the 
drawing.  He  insisted  that  it  was  sufficiently  strong,  and  to 
prove  his  faith  in  his  theory  he  tore  away  the  scaffolding 
before  the  ceiling  was  dry.  It  fell,  and  he  was  taken  out 
hours  after,  dead  and  mangled,  from  its  fallen  ruins. 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS  — ONE  OP  THE  COSTLIEST  AND 

MOST  BEAUTIFUL  BUILDINGS  IN  THE  WORLD  — 

ITS  MAGNIFICENT  MURAL  PAINTINGS 

AND  WONDERFUL  MOSAICS. 

A  Library  for  the  People  —  Costly  Books  and  Priceless  Treasures  of  Art 
Free  to  All  — A  Marvelously  Beautiful  Building  — How  It  Was 
Planned  —Its  Great  Cost  —Approaches  to  the  Building  —  The  Mam- 
moth Bronze  Doors  —  Entering  Into  Another  World  — A  Stroll  Through 
Beautiful  Marble  Halls  and  Corridors  —  Marvels  in  Mosaic  — How  the 
Mosaic  Ceilings  Were  Constructed  —  The  Mural  Paintings  and  Wall 
Decorations  —  A  Fairy  Scene  by  Night  —  Countless  Electric  Lights  — 
Famous  Mosaic  of  Minerva  —  A  Marvelous  Achievement — The  Lan- 
tern at  the  Top  of  the  Dome  —  Architectural  Splendors  —  Ingenious 
Apparatus  for  Carrying  Books  —  How  the  Library  Is  Connected  With 
the  Capitol  —  An  Underground  Tunnel  —  The  Alcoves  —  Forty-five 
Miles  of  Strips  of  Steel. 


T  the  threshold  of  one  century  rose  the  Capitol, 
slowly  unfolding  in  its  majesty  and  grandeur, 
growing  as  the  nation  grew,  out  of  weakness, 
often  painfully,  into  strength,  till  at  last  its 
mighty  dome  was  lifted  against  the  sky,  the  sym- 
bol of  a  great  and  a  united  people.  At  the  thresh- 
old of  another  century  rose  another  building,  unfolding 
quickly,  easily,  and  in  beauty,  like  a  lily  — 

"  —  blossoming  in  stone  — 
A  vision,  a  delight,  and  a  desire  — 
The  builder's  perfect  and  centennial  flower." 

The  new  Library  of  Congress  is  a  monument  of  a  nation 

(417) 


418  MONUMENTS  OF  A  NATION'S   GREATNESS. 

which  has  emerged  from  the  darkness  of  doubts  and  dangers 
into  the  full  glory  of  conscious  power.  Every  stone  in  the 
Capitol  was  the  promise  of  a  nation  yet  to  be  ;  every  stone 
in  the  Library  of  Congress  is  the  symbol  of  fulfillment.  It 
is  peculiarly  fitting  that  the  two  great  structures  should 
stand  near  each  other ;  that  in  the  sunlight,  from  the  time 
it  breaks  over  the  eastern  hills  till  it  lingers  faintly  in  the 
west,  the  gleam  of  the  great  white  dome  and  the  glistening 
of  the  gilded  one  should  mingle  in  a  single  setting  of  foliage. 
Together  they  are  emblematic  of  the  people.  They  belong 
to  the  people.  It  is  the  people's  Capitol,  and  it  is  the  people's 
Library,  though  originally  designed  simply  as  a  Library  of 
Congress.  It  is  more  freely  open  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
country  than  are  any  of  the  great  libraries  of  the  world. 
They  may  not  take  away  its  books  and  its  treasures  of  art, 
but  they  may  come  from  any  town  or  hamlet  in  the  Union, 
simply  ask  for  them,  and  they  will  be  placed  before  them. 
They  could  have  no  better  place  in  which  to  read  or  to  study 
these  treasures  of  art  and  literature  than  this,  the  largest 
and  costliest  library  building  in  the  world. 

When  visiting  the  Capitol  and  wandering  through 
its  massive  corridors  and  stately  chambers,  our  atten- 
tion is  divided  between  the  building  and  its  associa- 
tions. Within  its  many  great  rooms  we  inevitably  think  of 
the  scenes  witnessed  in  them,  rather  than  of  the  rooms 
themselves,  their  decorations,  or  their  furnishings.  Upper- 
most in  the  mind  always  is  not  the  building,  marvelous  as  it 
is,  but  what  has  been  done,  what  is  done,  within  its  vener- 
able walls.  It  is  so  in  the  White  House,  in  the  Treasury, 
and  in  all  the  public  buildings  —  save  only  this  one.  We 
look  upon  the  Library  building  without  a  thought  at  first  of 
its  treasures ;  and  then,  if  we  are  so  fortunate  as  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  examining  them,  we  forget  for  the  time  the 
beautiful  building.  What  it  is,  is  one  thing ;  what  it  holds, 
another.  But  always  what  it  is,  comes  first.  No  one  should 


A  MODEL  OF  HONEST  CONSTRUCTION.  121 

look  within  without  looking  through  this  magnificent  build- 
ing and  its  priceless  treasures  of  literature  and  art. 

In  his  report  for  1872,  Mr.  Ains worth  K.  Spofford  urged 
upon  Congress  the  absolute  necessity  for  a  separate  building 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  vast  number  of  valuable 
books  which  had  from  time  to  time  accumulated  in  the 
small  quarters  assigned  the  Library  of  Congress  in  the  Capi- 
tol. Fourteen  years  subsequently  the  first  decided  action 
was  taken.  Eleven  years  more  had  expired  before  the  grand 
structure  was  completed. 

Long  disputes  arose  over  the  site;  but  it  was  at  last 
decided  to  purchase  three  city  blocks,  containing  about  ten 
acres,  just  east  of  the  Capitol  grounds.  The  year  1886  was 
occupied  in  appraising  and  taking  possession  of  this  tract, 
for  which  the  government  paid  $585,000,  on  which  stood 
some  seventy  houses,  and  another  year  passed  in  clear- 
ing the  ground.  Plans  had  already  been  adopted,  but  in 
1888  a  timid  and  somewhat  economical  Congress  became 
alarmed  over  the  cost  and  magnitude  of  the  proposed  struc- 
ture, and  by  another  act  limited  its  cost  to  $4,000,000.  At 
the  same  time  it  placed  the  work  under  the  sole  charge  of 
the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  Army. 

Another  year  was  consumed  in  the  endeavor  to  reduce 
the  initial  plans  so  that  the  building  might  fall  within  the 
diminished  appropriation.  But  meantime  another  plan  was 
submitted  to  another  Congress,  modifying  the  architectural 
features  and  increasing  the  size,  beauty,  and  expense  of  the 
proposed  building,  though  providing  for  its  completion 
within  eight  years.  This  proved  to  be  acceptable  to  a  more 
generous  and  progressive  Congress,  which  by  a  new  law  raised 
the  limit  of  cost  to  about  $6,500,000.  The  building  was 
completed  in  1897,  within  the  time  set  by  Congress,  and  at  a 
cost  of  $6,347,000,  exclusive  of  the  cost  of  the  land.  The 
building  thus  stands  as  a  model,  not  simply  of  careful  and 
conscientious  artistic  work,  but  of  honest  construction. 


422  ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  WINDOW   KEY-STONES. 

When  approaching  the  new  building,  one  is  not  deeply 
impressed  with  the  exterior.  It  might  be  otherwise  if  the 
Capitol  were  not  so  near.  The  new  edifice  seems  at  first  to 
lack  the  indefinable  artistic  spirit  of  the  Capitol.  It  is  470 
feet  long  and  340  feet  deep,  but  only  three  stories  high,  and 
its  large  dome  appears  very  modest  beside  the  lofty  dome 
of  the  Capitol,  which  it  was  never  intended  to  rival.  %  The 
walls  are  constructed  entirely  of  granite,  so  close-grained 
and  light  in  tone  that  in  the  sunshine  it  is  as  brilliant  as 
marble.  Left  in  the  rough  in  the  basement  story,  it  is  much 
more  finely  dressed  in  the  story  above,  and  in  the  third 
brought  down  to  a  perfectly-smooth  surface. 

The  key-stones  of  the  window  arches  in  the  first  story 
are  sculptured  with  a  series  of  heads  illustrating  the  chief 
ethnological  types  of  mankind,  the  first  instance  of  a  com- 
prehensive attempt  of  this  kind  in  a  public  building.  The 
idea  was  carried  out  by  the  Department  of  Ethnology  in  the 
National  Museum,  which  contains  an  unsurpassed  collection 
of  carefully-prepared  models  of  different  types  of  men.  In 
preparing  these,  each  kead  was  subjected  to  a  strict  test  of 
measurement,  the  distance  between  the  eyes  and  between 
the  cheek  bones  being  the  most  valuable  criterion  of  racial 
differences ;  but  as  the  architect  required  the  heads  to  be  of 
uniform  size,  each  face  had  to  be  more  or  less  in  line  with 
the  block  it  ornamented.  This  difficulty  was  met  by  using 
or  not  using  the  distinctive  head-dress,  whichever  best  met 
the  conditions,  and  in  one  case,  that  of  the  Plains  Indian, 
whose  feathers  could  not  well  be  discarded,  the  difficulty 
was  overcome  by  laying  them  down  flat  upon  his  head, 
giving  "  poor  Lo  "  a  mild  and  almost  dejected  look,  which, 
after  all,  may  be  quite  in  accordance  with  his  present  feel- 
ings. There  are  thirty-three  of  these  heads  in  all,  each 
about  a  foot  and  a  half  in  height  and  chiseled  with  the 
greatest  attention  to  detail.  Even  the  tattooing  appears  in 
the  Maori  type. 


THE  TEMPLE   OF  AMERICAN  ART.  423 

The  main  entrance  pavilion  occupies  a  third  of  the  total 
front  of  the  building  and  its  approaches  are  extensive  and 
imposing.  In  front  of  the  granite  steps  which  ascend  from 
each  side  to  the  central  landing,  is  an  elaborate  fountain 
ornamented  with  large  bronze  figures  representing  the  court 
of  Neptune  in  a  grotto  of  the  sea.  Placid  turtles  and  frogs 
and  writhing  serpents  are  spurting  glistening  jets  of  water 
upon  spirited  sea-horses,  with  fair  Nereids  astride,  while 
high  in  the  center  upon  a  massive  rock  sits  his  imperturb- 
able majesty,  the  Euler  of  the  Deep. 

The  posts  of  the  granite  railing  of  the  steps  to  the 
entrance  landing  bear  aloft  clusters  of  electric  lamps  that  at 
night  give  the  massive  structure  the  air  of  an  enchanted 
palace.  About  the  entrance  are  many  sculptured  details  — 
large  female  figures  representing  Literature,  Science,  and 
Art,  and  busts  of  men  eminent  in  these  fields ;  children 
reclining  upon  sloping  pediments  that  are  ornamented  with 
massive  garlands  of  fruits  and  flowers.  All  demonstrate 
the  readiness  with  which  the  intractable  granite  yields  to 
the  touch  of  the  master-hand,  for  in  the  sculpture  and  in  all 
the  decorations  within  and  without  this  great  building  the 
bost  artists  in  the  United  States  were  employed.  Here 
their  genius  has  been  given  undying  form  in  many  a  detail 
—  so  many,  that  their  individual  values  are  not  fully  appre- 
ciated and  still  less  adequately  described. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Capitol,  American  art  had  no 
representatives.  Imported  Italians  wrought  there,  and 
often  failed  to  catch  the  spirit  of'  national  life.  Often  they 
failed  to  harmonize  with  each  other.  But  in  the  Library, 
famous  sculptors  and  painters  of  America  have  togethsr 
blended  the  best  expressions  of  their  genius  under  a  single 
plan  and  with  a  common  artistic  purpose,  and  they  have 
made  it,  what  no  other  building  in  the  country  is,  a  Temple 
of  American  Art. 

We  are  hardly  prepared  for  the  vision  that  bursts  upon 


424 


HOW   THE  LIBRARY  IMPRESSES  VISITORS. 


us  when  we  have  passed  the  mammoth  bronze  doors,  cov- 
ered with  designs  of  rich  sculptural  ornament  in  relief.  It 
is  like  entering  into  another  world  to  step  inside.  Stand 
here  any  day  for  a  few  minutes,  beside  the  blue-coated  offi- 
cial who  warns  people  to  check  their  umbrellas  and  their 
canes  —  not  because  there  is  any  danger  of  losing  them,  but 
because  some  proud  American  might  like  to  punch  the  mar- 


MAIN  ENTRANCE 
FIRST  STORY  PLAN,  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS. 

ble,  the  mosaic,  and  the  mural  paintings,  to  ascertain  if  they 
are  real  or  only  a  dream ;  listen  to  the  expressions  of 
strangers  as  they  enter,  and  note  their  invariable  exclama- 
tions of  surprise  and  delight ;  then  see  them  wandering  on 
in  dumb  amazement,  as  with  uplifted  eyes  they  seek  to  com- 
prehend the  beauty  and  the  grandeur  that  pervade  the  place. 


BEAUTY  AND  HARMONY   OF  THE  INTERIOR.  425 

Here  indeed  and  in  reality  is  a  "  poem  in  marble."  At 
once  it  dawns  upon  us  why  this  is  the  most  beautiful  build- 
ing in  the  United  States.  It  is  not  because  of  its  exterior, 
but  because  of  its  interior ;  the  unique  arrangement  and 
ornamentation  of  marble  piers  and  columns ;  ceilings  in 
white  and  gold  and  arcades  in  mosaic  of  mellow  tones ;  gal- 
leries of  massive  white  marble  from  between  whose  shining 
columns  come  visions  of  mural  paintings  and  ornamental 
stucco;  vistas  of  long  corridors  with  marble  floors;  walls 
and  ceilings  of  mosaic  art,  on  which  are  mingled  colors  of 
ivory  and  gold,  across  which  fall  at  regular  intervals  floods 
of  light;  massive  stairways  of  purest  marble  delicately 
carved;  hundreds  of  artistic  details  over  which  famous 
artists  wrought,  each  a  melody  and  yet  blended  into  grand 
and  perfect  harmony. 

The  greatest  care  has  been  taken  to  eliminate  every  jar- 
ring element.  It  has  been  said  that  in  no  other  building  in 
the  country  has  so  much  pains  been  taken  to  make  the 
designs  of  the  floor  consistent  with  those  of  the  architecture 
and  the  general  decorative  scheme.  This  phase  appears 
throughout  the  building  wherever  marble  or  mosaic  are 
used. 

The  mosaic  arches  constitute  one  of  the  marvels  of  this 
marvelous  building.  Names  of  distinguished  men  of  litera- 
ture, art,  and  science  are  used  in  the  ornamentation.  Most 
people  form  the  impression  that  this  mosaic  must  have  been 
laid  "  bottom  side  up "  before  the  arches  were  constructed 
and  wonder  how  the  workmen  could  have  fitted  each  piece 
so  exactly.  The  real  process,  though  quite  as  interesting, 
was  very  different.  The  artist  first  drew  the  designs,  full 
size  and  in  the  exact  colors  desired,  in  sections  which  were 
transferred  to  very  thick  paper.  These  sectipns  were  then 
one  by  one  covered  by  a  thin  coating  of  glue,  and  on  them 
the  workmen  laid  each  little  stone  in  its  proper  place, 
smooth  side  down.  The  section  completed,  it  was  taken  to 


426  IDEAL  PICTURES   OF  EVERY-DAY  LIFE. 

the  vaulted  ceiling,  previously  covered  with  cement,  and 
was  rolled  and  pounded  in  as  smoothly  as  possible.  The 
paper  was  afterwards  soaked  off.  Thus  these  wide  mosaic 
ceilings  with  their  rich  and  various  ornamentations  grew, 
section  by  section,  into  beautiful  patterns,  leaving  no  trace 
of  where  a  section  began  or  ended. 

The  paintings  in  the  large  tympanums  at  the  ends  of  the 
various  corridors,  and  the  smaller  ones  along  the  sides  above 
the  marble  panels,  were  not  executed,  as  some  have  sup- 
posed, by  artists  standing  upon  scaffolding  or  step-ladders, 
but  were  painted  in  the  quiet  of  their  studios  upon  canvas 
which  was  afterwards  firmly  and  smoothly  affixed  to  the 
walls  by  a  composition  of  white  lead.  By  many  ingenious 
devices  such  as  these  the  best  art  of  America  was  brought 
into  its  proper  place  in  various  parts  of  the  building. 

In  the  Library,  idealism  reigns  supreme.  Free  rein  has 
been  given  to  the  fancies  of  the  artists,  and  this  is  well  illus- 
trated in  the  mural  paintings  of  the  entrance  corridors. 
Those  on  the  north  side  illustrate  The  Family.  They  show 
people  living  in  idyllic  simplicity,  yet  possessing  the  arts 
and  habits  of  refined  cultivation.  This  idealism  is  summed 
up  in  the  large  painting,  where  the  head  of  the  family  is 
returning  after  a  day  spent  in  hunting  with  primitive  weap- 
ons. His  aged  mother,  her  hands  clasped  over  a  rough 
staff,  is  sitting  on  a  still  rougher  rock,  and  the  gray-bearded 
father  lays  aside  a  scroll  that  he  has  been  reading  and 
which  seems  somewhat  out  of  place  in  such  surroundings. 
The  wife,  with  the  face  of  a  Roman  matron,  baby  in  arms, 
is  welcoming  the  returning  sire,  the  little  daughter  clings  to 
his  robe,  while  a  graceful  maiden  with  a  countenance  beam- 
ing with  intelligence,  is  leaning  against  one  of  the  trees. 
All  are  dressed  in  the  garb  of  the  halcyon  days  of  Greece 
or  Rome,  yet  the  whole  scene  is  amid  trees  and  rocks  with  a 
view  beyond  into  primeval  forests  and  over  rugged  moun- 
tains. 


EXQUISITE  MURAL  PAINTINGS.  42? 

The  paintings  in  the  smaller  tympanums  illustrate  differ- 
ent phases  of  a  well-ordered,  simple,  and  happy  life.  They 
embody  such  ideas  as  poets  like  to  sing  about  and  artists 
love  to  paint.  "  Recreation  "  shows  two  girls  in  a  forest 
glade,  one  playing  on  a  pipe  and  the  other  on  a  tambourine. 
In  "  Study  "  a  girl  is  instructing  her  pupil  with  the  aid  of  a 
book  and  compasses  and  tablet ;  in  "  Labor "  two  youths 
are  at  work  in  a  field.  In  "  Religion  "  a  young  man  and  a 
girl  are  devoutly  kneeling  before  a  blazing  altar  composed 
of  two  rough  stones.  There  is  a  charm  in  this  idealism 
which  defies  criticism  and  pleases  every  eye. 

The  general  subject  of  the  mural  paintings  in  the  corre- 
sponding corridor  on  the  south  is  Lyric  Poetry,  and  they 
have  an  exquisite  charm  for  those  who  can  recall  the  lines 
they  represent,  though  they  are  a  little  bewildering  to  the 
average  constituent  of  Senators  and  Members  in  yonder 
Capitol.  A  thorough  patriot,  he  is  proud  of  the  American 
eagle  —  the  bird  of  Freedom  —  and  as  he  beholds  in  one  of 
these  paintings  a  naked  boy  riding  on  the  back  of  the  glori- 
ous bird,  it  strikes  him  as  queer,  even  after  he  is  told  that  it 
refers  to  the  lines  in  Tennyson's  "  Palace  of  Art." 

"  Flushed  Ganymede,  his  rosy  thigh 
Half  buried  in  the  Eagle's  down, 
Sole  as  a  flying  star  shot  through  the  sky 
Above  the  pillared  town." 

The  names  of  the  great  lyric  poets  are  neatly  set  in  the 
mosaic  of  this  corridor,  as  the  names  of  the  great  educators 
of  the  world  are  used  in  the  corridor  on  the  north.  In  a 
similar  manner,  in  various  parts  of  the  building  appear  hun- 
dreds of  names  of  men  who  were  famous  in  various  lines  of 
literature,  art,  and  invention.  In  the  decoration  of  the  east 
corridor,  the  names  are  all  of  Americans,  some  eminent  in 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  others  in  the  leading  professions, 

these  being  represented  in  the  mosaic  by  various  trophies. 
24 


428  BEAUTY   OF  THE   STAIRCASE   HALL. 

From  the  east  corridor,  marble  arcades  lead  to  the  Ro- 
tunda or  reading-room.  The  mural  paintings  over  the  en« 
trance  illustrate  various  phases  of  government  in  an  artistic 
symbolism  worthy  of  long  study.  '  The  figures  have  a 
nobility  and  strength  which  give  to  the  conceptions  in  the 
pictures  admirable  clearness  and  force. 

In  our  little  journey  thus  far  we  have  walked  about  the 
four  sides  of  the  entrance  pavilion,  and  these  beautiful  cor- 
ridors are  only  the  anterooms  to  the  lofty  staircase  hall  in 
the  center.  Inlaid  in  the  marble  floor  are  patterns  of  brass, 
the  one  in  the  center  being  a  large  rayed  disk  or  conven-, 
tional  sun,  on  which  are  indicated  the  points  of  the  compass. 
From  this  as  a  center  proceeds  a  scale  pattern  of  alternately 
red  and  yellow  Italian  marbles,  terminating  in  dark  red 
French  marble,  in  which  are  other  brass  inlays  representing 
the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  In  the  white  marble  tower- 
ing above  us  on  every  side  are  wonderfully-sculptured  de- 
tails, the  most  conspicuous  being  the  figures  of  the  staircases. 
These,  in  massive  marble  of  purest  white,  rise  along  the 
northern  and  southern  sides.  Upon  each  of  the  heavy 
newel-posts  is  a  bronze  female  figure  upholding  twenty  feet 
above  us  a  torch  of  clusters  of  electric  lamps. 

When  the  golden  sunlight  streams  in  from  above,  through 
the  six  skylight  designs  in  blues  and  yellows,  bringing  into 
bright  relief  the  sculptured  figures,  and  shading  off  into  the 
recesses  of  the  upper  and  lower  corridors  on  every  side,  the 
'scene  is  enchanting ;  but  there  is  another  scene  which  sur- 
passes it,  coming  when,  in  the  dusk  of  evening,  a  button  is 
touched,  and  countless  electric  lights  together  leap  forth  in 
splendor,  and  flood  every  nook  and  corner  with  brilliant  yet 
mellow  light. 

Ascending  one  of  the  grand  staircases,  we  stand  in  the 
corridors  of  the  second  floor,  decorated  like  others  with  a 
profusion  of  details,  all  of  which  combine  to  produce  an  ex- 
quisite general  effect.  Each  corridor  has  a  distinct  accent 


DECORATIONS   OF  THE   CORRIDORS. 


429 


of  color  and  design.  Among  the  more  interesting  and  ap- 
propriate decorations  is  the  series  of  "  Printers'  Marks  "  used 
by  the  old  printers,  and  by  many  modern  publishers,  on  the 
title  pages  of  their  books.  The  earliest  is  that  of  Fust  and 
Schoeffer,  employed  for  the  first  time  in  1457.  They  are 
fifty-six  in  number  and  run  through  all  the  corridors. 


/  o>  llFi  [VI  A 1  IN 

llT, -ON  *  liSSlS*"     2*.  ^  *  ^TRANCE 


Paintings  by  Kenyo'n  Cox 

_-      EXHIBITION         i 

GRAPHIC       ART     I 


-"•  npamtings,  by  Walter  Sh.rlaw 


SECOND  STORY  PLAN,  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS. 


From  the  broad  passage-way  on  the  east,  with  its  bright 
colors,  its  garlands  and  ribbons,  its  symbolic  medallions  and 
trophies,  rises  a  marble  stairway,  dividing  half  way  up  to"  the 
right  and  left.  Directly  in  front  on  the  wall  at  the  landing 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  decorations  of  the  building  — 
Tedder's  mosaic  of  Minerva.  It  is  a  marvelous  achieve- 
ment of  color  and  design  produced  by  thousands  of  minute 


430 

pieces  of  colored  marble.  At  a  little  distance  it  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  finely-executed  painting  in  oils.  So  great  is 
the  inquisitiveness  of  the  average  American,  so  overpower- 
ing the  temptation  to  touch  it  and  make  sure  that  it  is  really 
mosaic,  that,  notwithstanding  the  heavy  railing  about  it, 
and  a  sign  bearing  a  clearly-stated  request  not  to  touch  it, 
the  government  has  to  pay  a  blue-coated  official  to  stand 
constantly  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  with  a  warning  ever 
ready  to  fall  from  his  lips. 

Reaching  the  top  of  the  stairs,  we  pass  at  once  out  upon 
the  gallery,  which  affords  a  spacious  and  uninterrupted  view 
of  the  great  reading-room,  the  central  and  most  important 
portion  of  the  building,  and  as  such,  marked  by  a  magnifi- 
cence of  decoration  and  architecture  surpassing  every  other 
part  of  the  edifice.  Here  is  an  octagonal  room,  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  diameter  and  reaching  from  the  main  floor  160 
feet  to  the  apex  of  the  dome.  Paneled  with  the  rarest  of 
colored  marbles  in  great  profusion  and  in  massive  propor- 
tions, it  reveals  everywhere  in  the  sculpture  and  paintings 
the  harmony  of  the  great  architectural  design  which  is  car- 
ried down  to  the  smallest  of  the  countless  details.  Eight 
immense  piers  support  the  heavy  arches  around  the  room, 
and  between  them  are  marble  screens,  arcaded  in  two 
stories,  thus  dividing  the  octagon  into  eight  deep  alcoves. 
Above  these  are  the  galleries,  forming  a  continuous  prome- 
nade from  which  the  spacious  interior  may  be  viewed  from 
all  sides.  The  light  streams  in  from  great  semi-circular 
windows  set  in  the  eight  massive  arches  that  support  the 
dome.  The  lantern  is  thirty-five  feet  in  height  and  has 
eight  windows. 

t)n  the  mosaic  floor  of  this  lofty  rotunda  are  three  cir- 
cles of.  double  desks  of  polished  mahogany,  providing  seats 
for  over  200  readers,  while  from  every  alternate  side  of  the 
octagon  are  exits  into  the  alcoves  and  into  the  large  interior 
portions  of  the  building  containing  the  book-stacks.  The 


THE  PUBLIC  READING  ROOM  IN  THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS! 

The  central  and  most  important  part  of  the  building.  It  is  marked  by  a  magnificence  o' 
decoration  and  splendor  of  architecture  surpassing  every  other  part  of  the  edifice.  It  is  pan- 
eled with  the  rarest  of  colored  marbles  in  great  profusion  and  massive  proportions.  The  roorr 
is  100  feet  in  diameter  and  160  feet  from  the  main  floor  to  the  apex  of  the  dome.  Seats  are  pro* 
vided  for  over  two  hundred  readers. 


ARTISTIC  HARMONY  IN  FORM  AND   COLOR.  433 

lighting  is  so  arranged  that  at  the  press  of  a  button  it 
flashes  from  hundreds  of  lamps,  set  in  rosettes  in  the  screens 
of  the  alcoves  and  in  rows  at  the  base  and  at  the  top  of  the 
dome.  The  whole  vast  apartment  is  thus  flooded  with 
mellow  light,  and  no  shadows  are  anywhere  cast. 

If  one  wonders  how,  amid  all  these  decorative  details 
and  various  marbles,  there  can  arise  such  a  perfect  harmony 
in  color,  he  has  but  to  study  the  evidences  of  the  care  with 
which  the  architects  have  designed.  From  the  red  and 
yellow  marbles  at  the  base,  to  the  pure  white,  the  bright 
greens  and  the  violets  of  the  paintings  of  the  upper  dome, 
there  is  no  discordant  note. 

As  one  stands  enraptured  with  the  beauty  of  the  whole, 
he  has  no  thought  of  the  masterpieces  of  art  in  the  details 
about  him.  The  great  symbolical  statues  surmounting  the 
piers  are  unnoticed,  while  the  bronze  statues,  modeled  by 
the  best  sculptors  in  the  land  and  placed  upon  the  heavy 
marble  rail  of  the  gallery,  fail  for  the  moment  to  attract  the 
attention  they  deserve.  These  sixteen  bronze  statues  are  of 
men  famous  in  the  different  forms  of  thought  symbolized  in 
the  statues  above  the  piers.  On  one  side  of  the  statue  of 
Religion,  for  instance,  is  the  bronze  figure  of  Moses,  on  the 
other  side,  that  of  St.  Paul ;  beside  the  statue  of  Poetry  are 
Homer  and  Shakespeare. 

"We  must  break  from  the  spell  into  which  we  are  thrown 
by  such  architectural  splendors,  to  look  for  a  moment  to  the 
more  practical  matter  of  the  provision  made  for  readers  and 
students.  In  the  center  of  the  floor  is  a  great  distributing 
desk,  surrounded  by  a  circular  counter  for  the  attendants 
delivering  and  receiving  books.  In  a  high  station  on  the 
east  side  of  this  desk  sits  the  Superintendent,  who  is  thus  in 
touch  with  all  that  is  going  on  in  the  vast  room.  On  the 
other  side  is  a  cabinet  containing  the  terminus  of  the  book- 
carrying  apparatus  connecting  with  the  stacks.  Along  an- 
other side  is  a  row  of  twenty-four  pneumatic  tubes,  connect- 


434  INGENIOUS  BOOK-CARRYING  MECHANISM. 

ing  with  every  floor  of  each  of  the  stacks,  while  one  goes  to 
the  Librarian's  room  and  another  to  the  Capitol.  Thus  the 
half-dozen  attendants  at  the  desk  are  within  easy  reach  of 
nearly  1,000,000  books,  and  are  equally  accessible  to  the  poss- 
ibly 200  readers  in  the  room,  besides  those  demanding  books 
at  the  Capitol,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

You  may  fill  out  your  card  for  a  book,  quietly  settle 
yourself  in  one  of  the  elegant  chairs  at  the  circular  desks, 
and  shortly  the  book  will  appear.  If  it  is  a  work  of  fiction 
you  desire,  a  certain  pneumatic  tube  whisks  your  card  away 
to -the  proper  floor  of  the  proper  stack;  if  some  work  of 
history,  it  goes  in  another  direction.  The  attendants  at  the 
desk  do  not  simply  know  the  location  of  the  book  you  call 
for,  but  if  you  are  desirous  of  reading  up  some  subject  and 
have  no  idea  as  to  what  particular  book  you  wish,  they  can 
tell  you.  It  is  their  business  to  know. 

The  book-carrying  apparatus  is  a  marvel  of  ingenuity. 
It  is  in  two  parts,  each  separately  operated,  one  connecting 
with  the  great  north  stack,  the  other  with  that  in  the  south. 
Each  section  consists  of  a  pair  of  endless  chains  kept  con- 
stantly in  motion  by  an  electric  dynamo,  at  the  rate  of 
about  a  hundred  feet  a  minute.  These  chains  run  from  the 
terminal  cabinet  in  the  reading-room  down  to  the  basement, 
thence  on  a  level  to  the  stacks,  and  thence  directly  up  a 
small  well  to  the  top  floor,  where  they  turn  and  descend. 
They  carry  eighteen  trays  at  regular  intervals,  each  capable 
of  containing  a  large  book  or  a  number  of  small  ones,  and 
each  so  constructed  with  brass  teeth,  operating  with  corre- 
sponding teeth  in  the  apparatus  at  the  receiving  or  distrib- 
uting stations,  that  they  take  in  or  deliver  a  book,  as  the 
case  may  be. 

When  an  attendant  in  the  stacks,  taking  the  card  you 
filled  out,  and  which  was  sent  to  him  through  the  pneumatic 
tubes,  has  found  the  book  you  wish,  he  places  it  upon  a  slide 
which  he  sets  so  that  it  will  operate  with  the  first  tray  that 


AN  UNDERGROUND  BOOK  TUNNEL.         435 

arrives.  Being  caught  up  by  this  tray,  it  is  carried  on  till 
it  reaches  the  padded  basket  at  the  delivery  desk,  and  into 
this  it  is  dropped  with  hardly  a  sound  to  break  the  stillness 
of  the  vast  room.  When  the  book  is  to  be  returned,  the 
attendant  at  the  distributing  desk  sets  a  little  lever  on  a  dial 
at  the  number  of  the  stack  in  which  the  book  belongs,  and 
when  the  tray  approaches  the  proper  floor,  the  slide  is  auto- 
matically pushed  out  to  receive  the  load.  Thus  every  day 
and  every  evening,  hundreds  of  books  are  noiselessly  travel- 
ing to  and  fro,  north  and  south,  up  and  down,  from  stack  to 
reader  and  from  reader  to  stack. 

But  convenient  as  is  this  mechanical  contrivance  for  con- 
necting the  various  portions  of  the  vast  building,  it  is  of 
much  greater  importance  in  connecting  the  Library  with 
the  Capitol ;  for  when  Congress  is  in  session,  members  are 
constantly  drawing  books  for  immediate  use  in  debate  and 
in  committee  work.  It  was  this  fact  which  so  long  delayed 
Congress  in  consenting  to  housing  the  Library  in  a  separate 
building.  The  Capitol  and  the  Library,  which  are  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  are  connected  by  a  tunnel  with  one 
terminus  immediately  beneath  the  distributing  desk  in  the 
Library  and  the  other  in  the  Capitol,  about  midway  between 
the  Senate  and  the  House.  The  tunnel  is  of  brick,  six  feet 
high  and  four  feet  wide,  and  through  this  an  endless  cable, 
similar  to  those  already  described,  but  larger,  continuously 
runs,  the  speed  in  this  case  being  600  feet  a  minute.  By 
this  means  a  book  is  delivered  at  the  Capitol  within  three 
minutes  after  it  has  left  the  Library. 

Within  the  tunnel,  also,  are  the  necessary  pneumatic 
tubes  and  telephone  wires  for  the  exchange  of  messages.  It 
is  stated  that  a  Congressman  or  Senator  can  obtain  a  volume 
now  in  less  time  than  he  could  when  the  books  were  in  their 
old  quarters  in  the  Capitol.  If  in  the  midst  of  a  speech  it 
occurs  to  a  Senator  that  he  needs  a  certain  book  or  the  file 
of  a  certain  newspaper,  he  has  but  to  call  a  page,  whisper 


436  FORTY-FIVE  MILES   OF  SHELVING. 

his  wish,  and  before  he  has  delivered  many  more  sentences, 
the  page  returns  with  the  book  or  file. 

When  passing  from  the  Rotunda  to  the  book-stacks  one 
goes  from  the  region  of  art  to  a  region  in  which  practical 
considerations  chiefly  obtain.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of 
beauty  but  of  solidity,  compactness,  security,  convenience, 
light,  and  ventilation.  The  chief  requirement  to  be  met 
here  was  such  an  arrangement  as  would  hold  the  greatest 
number  of  books  in  the  smallest  possible  space,  each  volume 
to  be  perfectly  accessible  'and  every  shelf  to  be  well  lighted, 
day  or  night.  Of  the  three  stacks,  those  of  the  north  and 
south  are  the  largest,  each  having  a  length  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  feet,  a  width  of  forty-five  feet,  and  a  height  of 
sixty-three  feet.  They  are  divided  into  nine  stories  of  tiers, 
each  seven  feet  high,  so  that  every  book  can  be  reached  or 
its  title  read  from  one  of  the  floors.  The  whole  construc- 
tion is  of  iron  and  steel,  except  the  flooring,  which  runs 
down  the  central  corridors  and  into  each  of  the  shelves,  and 
which  consists  of  slabs  of  marble  laid  in  iron  frame  work, 
with  a  little  space  between  it  and  the  stack.  Thus  for  the 
purposes  of  heat,  light,  and  ventilation  the  nine  stories  are 
practically  one. 

The  book-shelves  are  composed  of  strips  of  steel,  the 
total  number  in  the  three  stacks  being  69,100  shelves. 
They  can  be  adjusted  to  any  height,  and  being  of  uniform 
size  any  shelf  is  available  anywhere.  There  are  no  rough 
edges  to  wear  the  books.  The  strips  are  rounded  and  as 
highly  polished  as  glass.  These  amount  to  231,680  running 
feet,  or  about  forty-five  miles,  which  will  accommodate  2,- 
085,120  volumes  of  books,  reckoning  nine  to  the  foot.  The 
capacity  of  the  additional  shelving,  which  may  be  placed  in 
the  first  and  second  stories  of  the  northeast  and  south 
fronts,  is  about  2,500,000  volumes,  and  the  ultimate  capacity 
of  the  building  for  books,  without  encroaching  on  the  pavil- 
ions, reading-rooms,  museum  halls,  or  other  parts  of  the  west 


SOLVING  THE   LIGHTING  PROBLEM.  437 

front,  or  any  part  of  the  basement  story  or  cellar,  is  there- 
fore upward  of  4,500,000-  volumes,  or  nearly  one  hundred 
miles  of  shelving. 

The  problem  of  lighting  this  immense  storehouse  of 
books  presented  some  difficulties,  which  were,  however,  suc- 
cessfully solved.  The  inner  walls  are  honeycombed  with 
windows  opening  into  the  courts,  and  are  so  located  between 
the  cases  and  at  the  ends  of  passage-ways  as  to  diffuse  light 
into  two  tiers  at  once.  Upper  and  lower  shelves  are  as  well 
lighted  as  those  in  the  center.  The  windows  are  of  polished 
plate-glass,  and  are  permanently  sealed,  so  that  no  dust  or 
moisture  can  penetrate.  The  walls  of  the  inner  courts  are 
constructed  of  light-colored  enameled  brick,  making  admira- 
ble reflectors,  and  the  marble  floors  within  are  pure  white. 
Evenings,  until  ten  o'clock,  the  light  is  furnished  by  an 
abundance  of  electric  lamps  in  every  passage-way  and  re- 
cess. Books  must  have  air,  but  dust  must  be  excluded,  and 
thus  there  is  a  ventilating  arrangement  whereby  air  is  con- 
stantly taken  from  the  courts  through  filters  of  cotton  cloth. 
In  winter  the  stacks  are  heated  by  warm  air  ascending 
through  the  spaces  between  the  cases  and  the  flooring,  and 
passing  out  through  ventilating  flues. 

No  apartments  of  the  building  are  more  lavishly  and 
sumptuously  furnished  and  decorated  than  the  reading-rooms 
of  the  House  and  of  the  Senate.  They  have  an  air  of  mag- 
nificence with  their  dark  and  massive  wood  furnishings,  and 
their  ceilings  paneled  and  finished  in  gold  and  colors  of 
somber  character. 

The  effect  of  the  decorations  in  the  Senate  room  is  more 
restful  than  in  the  House  apartment,  thus  according  with 
the  distinctive  differences  between  the  two  houses.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  these  rooms  are  used  very  little  by  members 
of  either  house.  If  they  are  making  studies  of  any  subject, 
they  more  frequently  order  the  desired  books  sent  to  their 
residences,  where  they  may  use  them  in  seclusion.  They, 


438  THE  LIBRARIAN'S  OFFICE. 

like  the  President  or  heads  of  departments,  are  privileged 
to  draw  from  the  Library  to  any  extent.  Some  members  of 
Congress,  however,  make  large  use  of  these  Library  reading- 
rooms  for  more  extended  research. 

One  room  on  this  floor  we  should  not  fail  to  enter,  even 
at  the  risk  of  disturbing  for  a  moment  the  scholarly  gentle- 
man at  the  massive  oak  desk  in  the  center  —  the  Librarian 
of  Congress.  The  room  is  divided  into  two  apartments  by 
a  broad  and  open  arch,  leaving  the  office  proper  on  one  side 
and  a  smaller  and  more  private  office  on  the  other.  The 
fittings  are  of  massive  oak ;  the  gallery  has  a  groined  ceil- 
ing, and  over  the  main  office  is  a  shallow  dome  with  beauti- 
ful stucco  decorations,  showing  Grecian  girls  and  garlands. 
The  color-scheme  is  chiefly  green,  softened  by  the  light 
which  pours  in  from  the  northwest  court.  It  is  a  sanctum 
at  once  refined  and  magnificent. 

The  Library  service  requires  a  force  of  341  persons ;  the 
Library  proper  185;  copyist  division  45;  disbursement  and 
care  of  buildings  and  grounds  111. 

We  need  not  leave  the  beautiful  building  without  satis- 
fying the  cravings  of  the  inner  man.  An  elevator  takes  us 
from  any  floor  to  the  "  attic  "  of  the  central  pavilion,  where 
there  is  a  cafe  befitting  the  elegance  of  the  edifice,  and  a 
bill  of  fare  that  will  satisfy  the  most  exacting  appetite. 
Here  we  can  sit  and  refresh  ourselves  and  marvel  at  the 
glory  and  beauty  our  eyes  have  seen,  and  the  priceless  liter- 
ary treasures  of  which  we  have  had  but  a  glance  in  passing. 


CHAPTER   XXYII. 

THE  LIBRARY  OP  CONGRESS  CONTINUED  —  AMONG  ITS 
BOOKS  AND  PRICELESS  TREASURES. 

Early  Struggles  of  the  Library  — Starting  with  1,000  Books  and  Nine 
Maps  — Thomas  Jefferson's  Contribution  —  Destroyed  by  Fire  —  A 
Famous  Librarian  —  Marvelous  Growth  of  the  Library — Nearly  a 
Million  Volumes  —  Some  Priceless  Old  Books  —  A  Unique  Collection 
of  Political  Handbills  —  Some  Remarkable  Volumes  and  Still  More 
Remarkable  Illustrations  —  The  "Breeches  Bible"  — The  "Bug 
Bible  "—Eliot's  Indian  Bible  — A  Book  Which  No  One  Can  Read  Val- 
ued at  $1,500  — Valuable  Manuscripts  and  Papers  of  Early  Presidents 
—  A  Collection  of  300,000  Pieces  of  Music  — The  Music-Room  —  The 
Periodical  Reading-Room  —  The  Map-Room  —  A  Wonderful  Collec- 
tion of  Maps  and  Atlases  —  A  Tour  Through  the  Basement — Read- 
ing-Room for  the  Blind  —  A  Unique  Institution  —  The  Intellectual 
Center  of  the  Nation  —  A  Wonderful  Storehouse  of  Knowledge  Free 
to  All. 


EEBLE,  indeed,  was  the  beginning  of  the  Library 
of  Congress,  that  great  institution  which  now  so 
thoroughly  represents  the  intellectual  achieve- 
ments of  the  American  people,  and  to  a  large 
extent  of  the  people  of  the  whole  world.  It  was 
established  in  1800,  or  at  about  the  time  that  the 
government  left  Philadelphia  and  came  to  "  the  city  in  the 
woods  "  to  abide.  While  Congress  was  still  sitting  in  the 
Quaker  city,  it  appropriated  $5,000  for  books,  but,  just  as 
happens  now,  whenever  the  government  endeavors  to  take  a 
step  in  advance,  strict  constructionists  of  the  Constitution 
strongly  opposed  such  an  enterprise -  — because,  forsooth, 
that  document  said  nothing  about  libraries.  Jefferson, 

(439) 


440  .    THE  LIBRARY  BURNED  BY  THE  BRITISH. 

however,  though  the  leader  of  the  party  from  which  the 
opposition  chiefly  came,  strongly  favored  the  idea,  but  he 
preferred  to  call  it  "  the  Library  of  the  United  States." 

At  the  beginning  the  Library  was  shelved  in  the  Cap- 
itol. The  first  catalogue  was  issued  in  April,  1802,  from 
which  it  appears  that  it  contained  1,064  volumes  and  nine 
maps.  This  slender  acquisition,  grown  to  3,000  volumes 
in  1814,  served  as  convenient  kindlings  for  the  flames  with 
which  the  British  destroyed  the  Capitol  in  that  year, 
though  most  of  the  books  were  subsequently  replaced.  A 
few  weeks  after  this  disaster,  a  letter  was  read  in  the  Sen- 
ate  from  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  was  then  living  in  retire- 
ment at  Monticello  and  laboring  under  some  financial  diffi- 
culties. He  offered  the  government  the  largest  portion  of 
his  library,  and  Congress  purchased  of  him  6,760  volumes 
for  $23,950.  This  collection  had  been  the  delight  of  Jeffer- 
son's life,  and,  long  before,  he  had  written  of  it  as  "  the  best 
chosen  collection  of  its  size,  probably,  in  America."  Some 
members  of  Congress  had  their  suspicions  about  Jefferson's 
tastes,  however,  and  they  sought  to  have  a  provision  made 
for  the  rejection  of  books  "  of  an  atheistical,  irreligious,  and 
immoral  tendency,"  but  these  objections  did  not  prevail. 

With  Jefferson's  books  as  a  nucleus,  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress began  to  make  substantial  gains,  and  in  1850  it  con- 
tained about  55,000  volumes.  But  on  December  24,  1851,  a 
fire  broke  out  in  the  rooms  in  which  the  books  wTere 
shelved,  and  before  it  could  be  extinguished  had  consumed 
about  35,000  volumes,  or  about  three-fourths  of  the  collec- 
tion. Congress  liberally  appropriated  money  to  replace  the 
books  so  far  as  possible,  and,  from  that  time,  the  growth  of 
the  Library  has  been  unchecked.  Its  real  growth,  however, 
began  with  the  administration  of  AinsAvorth  R.  Spofford, 
who  was  appointed  Librarian  by  President  Lincoln  in  De- 
cember, 1864,  and  who  for  nearly  thirty-seven  years  was 
Librarian  of  Congress,  His  accomplishments  amounted  to 


INSIDE  THE  MAIN  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS. 
No  one  is  prepared  for  the  vision  that  bursts  upon  him  when  he  has  passed  through  the 
mammoth  bronze  doors.    It  is  like  entering  into  another  world.    Visitors  gaze  in  dumb  amaze- 
ment, as  with  uplifted  eyes  they  seek  to  comprehend  the  beauty  and  the  grandeur  that  pervade 
the  place.     The  massive  stairway  is  of  white  marble  delicately  carved. 


THE  LIVING  INDEX   TO  THE  COLLECTION.  443 

a  genius,  not  only  for  increasing  the  size  of  the  Library,  but 
for  developing  its  efficiency.  He  has  been  credited  with 
absorbing,  by  some  mysterious  mental  process,  the  contents 
of  every  book  in  order  to  aid  the  inquiries  of  Congress  and 
the  public,  and  he  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  best  catalogue 
and  index  of  what  the  mammoth  collection  contains. 

In  the  gallery  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  upon  a 
simple  plaster  column,  may  be  seen  the  bust  of  a  man  who 
in  one  way  rendered  a  very  important  service  to  the  nation. 
It  is  that  of  Peter  Force,  who  did  more  than  any  one  Amer- 
ican to  rescue  from  oblivion  the  early  documentary  history 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  in  1790,  became  a  prom- 
inent printer  in  New  York,  and  settled  in  Washington  as  a 
printer  in  1812.  In  1820  he  began  the  publication  of  an 
annual  volume  of  national  statistics.  In  1833  the  govern- 
ment entered  into  a  contract  with  Mr.  Force  to  prepare  and 
publish  a  "Documentary  History  of  the  American  Colo- 
nies." Nine  volumes  subsequently  appeared  under  the  title 
of  "  American  Archives."  In  preparing  this  work,  Mr 
Force  amassed  a  collection  of  books,  manuscripts,  periodi 
cals,  pamphlets,  and  papers  relating  to  American  History, 
unequaled  by  any  private  collection  then  in  the  world.  At 
the  request  of  the  Joint  Library  Committee  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress,  Mr.  Spofford  entered  into  a  thorough  exam- 
ination of  the  Force  Library.  He  presented  to  Congress 
a  classified  report  of  its  treasures,  which  resulted  in  the  pur- 
chase of  the  entire  collection  through  the  Joint  Library 
Committee  for  the  sum  of  $100,000,  the  same  amount  which 
had  been  offered  by  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 

Under  Mr.  Spofford's  fostering  care  and  by  moderate 
appropriations  for  securing  the  best  works  in  every  field  of 
intellectual  activity,  the  Library  grew  with  great  rapidity, 
so  that  in  less  than  fifteen  years  after  his  appointment  the 
capacity  of  its  quarters  in  the  Capitol  became  greatly  over- 
taxed. Many  of  the  volumes  were  packed  away  where  they 


444  SPACE  FOR  FOUR  MILLION  VOLUMES. 

were  practically  inaccessible,  either  to  members  of  Congress 
or  to  students.  Then  came  the  agitation  for  a  new  build- 
ing, which  finally  resulted  in  the  present  beautiful  and  emi- 
nently-practical structure  and  provided  space  for  a  growth 
to  at  least  4,000,000  volumes. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  Library  has  already 
nearly  reached  the  million  mark.  There  are  besides  half  a 
million  of  pamphlets,  nearly  half  a  million  separate  pieces  of 
music,  over  30,000  maps,  and  more  than  300,000  engravings, 
photographs,  etchings,  and  pictorial  illustrations  in  general. 

A  large  number  of  scientific  publications  are  issued  each 
year  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  these  it  distributes 
throughout  the  world,  receiving  in  exchange  a  great  body 
of  scientific  literature  which  practically  comprehends  most 
works  of  value  issued  by  the  various  scientific  societies  of 
Christendom.  This  splendid  collection  of  material  is  regu- 
larly deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress  and  forms  one  of 
the  best  scientific  libraries  in  the  world.  Many  contribu 
fcions  of  foreign  literature  are  also  secured  through  the  vari- 
ous departments  of  the  government.  Occasionally  valuable 
private  collections  find  their  ultimate  home  here. 

Being,  in  a  sense,  a  national  Library,  it  has  been  one  of 
the  foremost  aims  of  the  management  to  secure  all  books, 
pamphlets,  maps,  and  periodicals  relating  to  our  own  country 
—  everything  illustrating  the  discovery,  settlement,  history, 
biography,  and  natural  resources  of  the  continent.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  many  valuable  books  secured  by  the  purchase  of 
the  Force  Library,  most  of  the  earlier  and  very  rare  works 
have  been  picked  up  in  Europe  and  in  auction  sales  of  books 
at  home  and  abroad.  The  whole  includes  many  of  the 
earliest-printed  books  and  papers  from  American  presses. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  value  of  this  collec- 
tion of  "Americana,"  for  it  contains  many  fugitive  fragments 
which,  though  lightly  esteemed  in  their  day,  have  become 
almost  priceless  with  age  and  rarity.  One  such  feature,  for 


y 
CAMPAIGN  HANDBILLS    OF   OLDEN  TIME.  445 

example,  is  composed  of  a  large  number  of  old  engravings, 
cartoons,  and  handbills,  showing  the  peculiar  or  characteris- 
tic qualities  of  our  long-forgotten  political  campaigns.  Being 
the  ephemeral  products  of  their  day,  they  were  rarely  saved, 
but  those  which  have  been  rescued  and  deposited  here  afford 
a  glimpse  of  the  real  political  life  of  olden  days,  not  to  be 
gained  from  the  pages  of  our  written  histories. 

In  the  popular  mind  the  forms  and  features  of  the  Presi- 
dents of  earlier  decades  take  on  a  sort  of  majesty  with  time, 
but  we  are  disillusioned  when  we  look  upon  some  of  the  re- 
markable caricatures  of  the  campaigns  of  Jackson,  and  of 
the  "log-cabin"  campaign  of  William  Henry  Harrison. 
Crude  and  coarse  was  the  political  art  of  those  days,  but 
there  was  a  ruggedness  in  its  humor  that  still  lingers  in  the 
more  refined  examples  of  these  later  times.  This  collection 
includes  various  contemporary  engravings  of  the  Presidents 
from  Washington  down,  and  many  old  handbills,  calls  for 
political  meetings,  earnest  appeals  to  "the  "  citizens  "  to  turn 
out  and  do  something  to  save  the  country  from  destruction. 
It  requires  but  a  glance  at  these  old  relics  to  convince  us 
that  modern  politics  is  no  new  thing. 

In  the  collection  of  rare  and  early  books  pertaining  to 
America  are  found,  not  simply  those  printed  in  this  country, 
and  the  files  of  early  American  newspapers,  like  that  pub- 
lished by  Franklin,  but  some  exceedingly-quaint  and  curious 
works  published  in  England  and  Spain  during  the  period  of 
settlement.  Many  of  these  antiques  can  be  seen  in  the  exhi- 
bition cases  under  glass.  Yellow  with  age,  and  never  things 
of  beauty  from  a  modern  printer's  point  of  view,  are  these 
works  with  their  remarkable  title-pages  and  still  more  re- 
markable illustrations.  Here  are  scores  of  small  volumes, 
purporting  in  their  titles  to  describe  the  condition  of  various 
colonies,  and  particularly  of  the  religious  disturbances  which 
seemed  to  be  affecting  them.  Older  still  are  some  of  the 
works  describing  the  early  settlement  of  some  of  the  West 


4:46  PRICELESS  LITERARY  TREASURES. 

Indian  Islands,  and  containing  grewsome  pictures  of  Caribbee 
Indians  roasting  Spanish,  arms  and  legs  over  the  fire,  or 
calmly  gnawing  the  flesh  from  the  bones  of  their  victims. 

In  various  ways  many  books  of  great  rarity  and  age,  in 
no  way  relating  to  America,  have  come  into  the  possession 
of  the  government.  Here  is  a  copy  of  the  first  edition  of 
Paradise  Lost ;  copies  of  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth 
folio  editions  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  and  a  large  array  of 
early  editions  of  the  Bible.  One  of  these  is  the  famous 
"Breeches  Bible";  another  a  copy  of  the  so-called  "  Bug 
Bible,"  in  Which  the  more  stately  rendering  of  the  psalmist : 
"  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror  by  night,"  is  trans- 
lated "af rayed  of  anye  bugges  by  nyghte." 

Among  the  treasures  acquired  through  the  Force  Library 
is  a  perfect  copy  of  the  first  Bible  printed  in  this  country  — 
Eliot's  Indian  Bible  —  a  copy  of  which  once  sold  for  $1,500, 
although  it  is  a  book  which  no  one  can  read.  It  is  in  a 
tongue  utterly  dead  and  which  was  famous  for  long  words. 
It  required  thirty-four  letters  in  a  single  word  to  render  a 
phrase  in  the  gospel  of  Mark.  We  can  imagine  the  type- 
setters of  that  day  following  the  strange,  long-drawn-out 
words,  and  Eliot  reading  and  revising  the  proofs  in  consulta- 
tion with  one  of  his  Indian  preachers.  Cotton  Mather  says 
that  Eliot  wrote  the  whole  translation  with  one  quill,  which 
leads  us  to  believe  that  Cotton  Mather  was  not  always  so 
truthful  as  George  "Washington  —  or  else  it  was  a  miracu- 
lous quill. 

One  of  the  Bibles  on  exhibition  is  a  copy  of  the  Yulgate,  in 
two  great  folio  volumes,  a  Latin  manuscript  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  written  on  vellum,  with  150  large  illuminations  and 
1,200  miniatures.  It  is  a  curious  work  of  art,  over  which 
some  old  monk  must  have  spent  his  life.  A  long  scroll  con- 
taining the  entire  Koran,  in  beautiful  Arabic  writing  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  is  another  of  the  many  priceless 
treasures. 


VALUABLE   DOCUMENTS  AND   RECORDS.  447 

The  Library  furnishes  an  appropriate  repository  for  old 
manuscripts  of  eminent  men  of  America,  and  while  Congress 
Las  made  no  special  provision  for  securing  such  treasures  by 
purchase,  in  various  ways  many  have  come  into  the  possession 
of  the  Library.  They  include  some  manuscript  papers  of 
four  of  the  early  Presidents.  Among  them  also  are  the 
originals  of  the  articles  of  association  of  the  First  Continen- 
tal Congress,  many  of  the  orders  and  letters  of  John  Paul 
Jones,  many  letters  and  papers  in  the  handwriting  of  Frank- 
lin, "Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  and  of  the  gen- 
erals of  the  Revolutionary  War.  Among  the  older  manu- 
scripts are  the  original  records  of  the  Virginia  Company  in 
early  colonial  days,  and  of  several  old  Indian  treaties.  One 
of  the  most  curious  relics  is  a  manuscript  volume  of  the 
drawings  of  the  United  States  Lottery  of  1779,  instituted  to 
raise  funds  to  carry  on  the  "War  of  Independence. 

In  addition  to  its  great  collection  of  books,  the  Library 
has  acquired  a  rich  accumulation  of  works  of  the  fine  arts, 
many  of  them  very  costly  and  valuable.  A  multitude  of 
these  are  arranged  in  cases,  and  form  a  most  instructive  ex- 
hibit of  the  progress  of  the  arts  of  design.  Here  can  be 
found,  not  only  the  best  etchings  of  our  own  artists,  but 
etchings  and  drawings  of  foreign  artists.  Adjoining  the  art 
department  are  the  music-rooms,  containing  over  300,000 
pieces  of  music.  All  nations  are  represented.  From  the 
Turkish  minister  has  been  secured  an  old  Turkish  cradle- 
song  seldom  heard  outside  the  harem.  Other  ministers  at 
"Washington  have  presented  folk-songs  and  native  ballads 
which  have  never  before  been  known  outside  of  their  own 
countries.  Here  too  are  Hindoo  and  Armenian  airs  and 
Hawaiian  songs  in  the  melodious  Kanaka  language. 

All  operas,  symphonies,  and  other  musical  productions, 
from  stately  oratorios  to  "  rag-time  "  two-steps  come  here  to 
be  copyrighted  and  are  here  filed  away.  One  advantage  of 

the  musical  department  is  that  copies  of  new  compositions 
25 


44:8         IN  TOUCH  WITH  ALL  THE  WORLD. 

can  usually  be  seen  here  earlier  than  in  the  music  stores,  and 
can  be  tried  in  the  music-room  of  the  Library,  a  large  and 
lofty  apartment,  in  which  are  placed  a  grand  piano  and  other 
musical  instruments,  for  the  use  of  the  musical  public  under 
proper  regulations.  As  a  rule  none  but  musicians  are  admitted 
to  the  department.  But  as  nearly  every  one  is  willing  to  claim 
that  he  has  more  or  less  music  in  his  soul,  admittance  is  not 
difficult,  and  you  may  happen  to  drop  in  at  a  time  when  a 
real  artist  is  trying  some  new  composition. 

v  The  periodical  reading-room  is  a  vast  apartment  run- 
ning the  entire  length  of  the  building  on  the  south.  Here, 
upon  polished  oak  racks,  classified  by  states  or  countries,  are 
files  of  the  leading  daily  papers  of  the  country  and  many  of 
the  leading  journals  of  the  world.  Easy  chairs  and  tables 
are  placed  between  the  racks,  and,  no  matter  from  what 
part  of  the  country  you  come,  you  may  sit  here  by  the  win- 
dow and  read  the  local  news.  Farther  on  is  a  longer  series 
of  racks  containing  hundreds  of  the  weeklies,  monthlies,  and 
quarterlies  of  this  country,  and  the  leading  magazines  and 
reviews  of  the  world.  The  long  array  is  thoroughly  classi- 
fied. If  you  wish  to  read  the  religious,  the  philosophical, 
the  medical,  the  military,  the  theosophic,  the  financial  mag- 
azines, trade  journals,  or  reviews  of  any  branch  of  human 
activity,  you  have  but  to  walk  to  the  proper  rack,  select  the 
magazine  or  review  you  wish,  seat  yourself  in  a  comfortable 
arm-chair,  and  read.  If  you  tire  of  one,  there  are  hundreds 
of  others.  From  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  ten  in  the 
evening  the  Library  is  open  to  the  public.  No  department 
of  this  great  storehouse  of  knowledge  more  clearly  shows 
that  it  is  "  the  library  of  the  people."  Nowhere  else  in  all 
the  world  is  the  periodical  literature  spread  out  so  com- 
pletely and  so  freely  as  in  this  magnificent  reading-hall. 

In  another  wing  of  the  building  is  the  hall  of  maps  and 
charts,  containing  a  collection  of  maps  which  is  not  sur- 
passed in  the  world,  all  arranged  in  cases  and  so  classified, 


IN  THE   COPYRIGHT  DEPARTMENT.  451 

both  as  to  time  and  place,  as  to  make  reference  convenient 
and  easy.  You  may  go  to  this  place  and  study  the  geo- 
graphical details  of  almost  every  spot  on  the  earth  that  has 
ever  been  surveyed.  Here  also  are  maps  in  various. lan- 
guages, including  great  Chinese  maps,  and  an  enormous  na- 
tive map  of  Japan  held  in  an  immense  bamboo  frame.  The 
lettering  is  all  in  large  Japanese  characters,  and  while 
revealing  the  artistic  precision  of  the  Japanese,  it  presents 
a  queer  appearance  to  the  American.  The  Library  has  a 
complete  collection  of  the  great  atlases  of  the  world,  as 
well  as  of  most  early  books  of  travel  and  discovery.  Thus 
the  student  can  trace  the  development  of  human  conceptions 
of  the  earth's  surface  from  the  earliest  days. 

The  basement  is  reached  by  marble  stairways  from 
the  main  entrance  hall.  One  would  naturally  expect 
to  find  here  a  cheapening  in  the  design  and  finish,  and  a 
resort  to  imitations  of  the  rich  and  costly  materials  of  the 
upper  floors.  But  everything  is  real  —  there  is  no  imitation 
here.  The  walls  are  wainscoted  in  marble,  and  all  from  Amer- 
ican quarries,  on  this,  the  ground  floor,  and  show  the  sub- 
stantial character  of  the  whole  structure.  It  is  absolutely 
fire-proof,  not  because  of  any  ingenious  construction,  but 
because  of  the  very  nature  of  the  material  used. 

This  basemant,  which  is  really  the  ground  floor,  and 
which  is  well  lighted,  besides  providing  room  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Library,  furnishes  ample  quarters  for  the  Copy- 
right Department,  which  employs  a  large  clerical  force  and 
possesses  extensive  archives.  To  the  Registrar  of  Copyrights 
are  made  all  applications  for  the  copyright  protection  of 
publications  of  every  character  —  books,  periodicals,  music, 
photographs,  etc.  Hundreds  of  such  applications  are 
examined  and  passed  every  day.  It  has  become  the  custom 
of  many  of  the  large  newspapers  to  copyright  every  issue 
of  their  paper,  as  it  compels  others  using  their  articles  of 
news  or  information  to  give  credit  for  them.  Copyrights 


452          THE   INTELLECTUAL   CENTER  OF  THE  NATION. 

are  granted  for  twenty-eight  years,  with  the  privilege  of 
extension  for  fourteen  years  more. 

One  room  in  the  basement  is  devoted  to  a  reading-room 
for  the  blind,  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  Li- 
brary. Here  almost  any  day  one  may  see  blind  people 
slowly  passing  their  fingers  over  the  raised  letters  of  stand- 
ard works  of  literature.  The  number  of  such  works  is,  of 
course,  limited,  but  additions  are  constantly  being  made. 
The  volumes  also  are  necessarily  bulky,  the  Bible  making 
several  large  volumes.  But  this  room  affords  advantages  to 
poor  blind  people  Vhich  otherwise  are  not  readily  secured. 
Daily  during  the  season  readings  are  given,  often  by  promi- 
nent authors  who  are  visiting  or  resident  in  "Washington, 
and  are  quite  willing  to  read  to  an  audience  of  people  who 
listen  with  the  most  earnest  attention,  albeit  with  closed 
eyes.  These  entertainments  are  often  varied  with  music. 

The  Library  of  Congress  is  unique  among  the  institutions 
of  the  government.  It  is  the  intellectual  center  of  the 
nation.  In  time,  with  the  continuous  growth  of  the  Library 
in  all  its  various  departments,  it  is  certain  to  make  the  Capi- 
tal city  the  literary  and  artistic  center  of  the  country. 
Nowhere  else  can  be  found  such  a  storehouse  of  knowledge 
open  to  the  people.  Here  students  of  history  can  find  the 
chronicles  of  every  period  in  any  language ;  artists  can 
study  the  models  and  history  of  art  of  every  age  and  clime ; 
the  architect  and  engineer  can  find  the  designs  of  the  great 
buildings  and  public  works  of  every  country ;  the  musician 
can  find  the  music  of  every  tongue ;  here,  more  complete 
than  anywhere  else,  can  be  found  by  those  who  seek  them 
religious  commentaries  and  homilies,  works  of  medicine  and 
surgery,  poetry  and  drama,  biography  and  memoir,  essay 
and  criticism,  metaphysics  and  ethics,  genealogy  and  her- 
aldry, law  and  finance,  in  short,  the  printed  record  of  the 
achievements  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  in  every  line 
of  intellectual  activity  and  human  progress. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 

THE  WASHINGTON  MONUMENT  —  THE  MOST  IMPOSING  MON- 
UMENT EVER  ERECTED  IN  HONOR  OP  ONE  MAN 
—  THE  CORCORAN  GALLERY  OF  ART. 

The  Greatest  Monument  in  the  World  —  It  Bears  No  Inscription  and  Needs 
None  —  Piercing  the  Sky  —  A  Sublime  Picture  —  First  Steps  to  Erect 
a  Monument  to  the  Memory  of  Washington  —  A  Request  that  the  Re- 
mains of  Washington  Be  Interred  in  the  Capitol  —  The  Request  Re- 
fused—  How  the  Money  Was  Raised  for  a  Monument  —  Vexatious 
Delays  —  Its  Completion  and  Cost  —  The  Highest  Structure  of  Stone 
in  the  World  —  Its  Dimensions  and  Height  —  Struck  by  Lightning  — 
The  Ascent  to  the  Top  in  an  Elevator  — What  It  Costs  Uncle  Sam  To 
Carry  Visitors  Up  and  Down  —  The  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art  — A 
Beautiful  Building  —  Its  Treasures  of  Art  —  Its  Galleries  of  Paintings 
—  Its  Famous  Bronzes  —  A  Wonderful  Collection  —  Its  Great  Value. 


jASHINGTON  is  a  city  of  monuments  erected  to 
the  memory  of  the  nation's  great  men  of  the 
the  past,  and  foremost  among  them  stands  the 
Washington  Monument,  towering  in  majestic 
simplicity,  dignity,  and  grandeur,  so  well  illustrating 
a  nation's  conception  of  the  Father  of  His  Cquntry. 
Towering  nearly  600  feet  above  the  waters  of  the  Potomac 
which  flows  close  by,  the  great  white  shaft  is  seen  for  miles 
around,  marking  the  city's  site,  and  on  its  top  the  first  rays 
of  morning  fall  and  the  last  tinge  of  sunset  lingers.  It  bears 
no  inscription  to  the  memory  of  Washington.  It  needs  none. 
It  could  stand  for  no  one  else. 

Sometimes  it  is  half  hidden  in  heavy  hanging  clouds 
which  envelop  and  conceal  its  top,  and  sometimes  its  base 
lies  hidden  in  the  mists,  while  the  sun  glitters  upon  its  apex. 

(453) 


454  MAJESTIC  SIMPLICITY  OF  THE  MONUMENT. 

But  it  never  presents  a  sublimer  picture  than  when  its  grand 
proportions  stand  out  against  a  sky  of  purest  azure,  flecked 
here  and  there  by  fleecy  white  clouds.  One  never  tires  of 
beholding  it.  It  loses  nothing  by  familiarity.  Though  we 
may  pass  it  day  after  day,  it  never  becomes  commonplace. 
Every  time  one  looks  at  it  its  grandeur  seems  more 
impressive. 

The  first  steps  for  a  monument  to  Washington  were  taken 
by  the  Continental  Congress  in  1783,  when  it  was  resolved 
that  an  equestrian  statue  should  be  erected  at  the  place 
where  the  residence  of  Congress  should  finally  be  estab- 
lished. On  December  19,  1799,  the  day  after  his  mortal 
remains  had  been  committed  to  the  little  tomb  at  Mount 
Yernon,  a  committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  was  ap- 
pointed "  to  report  measures  suitable  to  the  occasion  and  ex- 
pression of  the  profound  sorrow  with  which  Congress  is 
penetrated  on  the  loss  of  a  citizen  first  in  war,  first  in  peace, 
and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  A  few  days 
later  Congress  resolved  that  a  marble  monument  be  erected 
by  the  United  States  in  the  Capitol,  and  that  the  family 
be  requested  to  permit  his  body  to  be  deposited  under  it. 
To  this  Martha  Washington  consented. 

But  Congress  became  absorbed  in  other  matters,  nothing 
further  was  done  about  the  proposed  monument,  and  the 
wife  followed  the  husband  into  the  little  tomb  at  Mount 
Yernon.  Occasionally  the  subject  of  a  monument  was  dis- 
cussed, but  without  results.  In  1832  Congress  made  applica- 
tion to  the  proprietors  of  Mount  Yernon  for  the  transfer  of 
the  remains  of  Washington  to  the  Capitol  in  conformity 
with  the  resolution  of  over  thirty  years  before,  but 
Yirginia  protested  and  John  A.  Washington  declined. 
Congress  having  again  dropped  the  matter,  the  people  of  the 
Capital  city  took  it  up  and  in  1833,  at  a  public  meeting, 
the  Washington  National  Monument  Society  was  formed 
with  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  then  in  his  seventy-eighth 


THE  MONUMENT  DEDICATED.  455 

year,  as  president.  Artists  were  invited  to  submit  designs 
which  should  "harmoniously  blend  durability,  simplicity, 
and  grandeur." 

The  design  originally  accepted  was  submitted  by  Kobert 
Mills.  It  provided  for  an  obelisk  rising  600  feet  from  the 
center.  Funds  were  solicited,  but  the  money  came  in  slowly. 
The  site  was  selected  in  1848,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
on  Independence  Day  that  year,  the  plan  meantime  having 
been  modified  so  as  to  provide  for  an  obelisk  500  feet  high. 
The  work  then  went  on  until  1854,  when  the  shaft  had 
reached  to  a  height  of  156  feet.  Then  the  funds  of  the 
society  gave  out.  The  cost  thus  far  had  been  $300,000. 
Congress  was  asked  to  appropriate  $200,000,  but  there  were 
too  many  political  complications  then  to  permit  that  troubled 
body  to  attend  to  the  matter. 

Then  came  the  Civil  War  and  nothing  more  could  be 
done.  The  society  presented  memorials  to  Congress  and 
asked  for  subscriptions  from  the  people,  but  it  was  not  till 
1876  that  Congress  appropriated  $200,000  for  continuing  the 
work.  It  also  assumed  the  responsibility  for  its  completion. 
A  commission  was  appointed  and  found  that  the  foundation 
was  insufficient  to  sustain  the  shaft  proposed,  and  thus  about 
$100,000  were  at  first  spent  in  enlarging  and  deepening  the 
foundations,  a  rather  difficult  work  as  the  part  already  built 
had  to  be  undermined.  On  the  sixth  of  December,  1884, 
the  capstone,  which  completed  the  shaft,  was  set,  and  on. 
February  12,  1885,  it  was  dedicated — "the  most  imposing, 
costly,  and  appropriate  monument  ever  erected  in  the  honor 
of  one  man."  The  total  cost  has  been  about  $2,000,000. 

The  square  of  about  forty  acres,  in  the  center  of  which 
the  monument  stands,  was  approved  by  Washington  him- 
self. The  total  height  of  the  shaft  above  ground  is  555  feet 
and  six  inches,  thus  making  it  the  highest  structure  of  stone 
in  the  world.  The  foundations,  which  bear  a  weight  of  over 
80,000  tons,  are  147  feet  square  and  thirty-seven  feet  deep. 


456  THE  HIGHEST  STRUCTUEE  OF  STONE  IN  THE  WORLD. 

At  the  base  the  shaft  is  fifty-five  feet  square  and  the  walls 
are  fifteen  feet  thick,  but  it  gradually  tapers  till,  where  the 
pyramidal  top  begins,  it  is  only  thirty-five  feet  square  and 
the  walls  are  eighteen  inches  thick.  •  The  inside  of  the  walls, 
as  far  as  constructed  before  the  government  took  hold  of  the 
matter,  is  of  blue  granite  roughly  laid,  but  from  this  point 
the  granite  is  laid  in  courses  to  correspond  with  the  outer 
courses  of  marble.  The  blocks  were  all  cut  and  dressed  in 
the  most  careful  manner  and  the  work  has  been  declared  to 
be  the  best  piece  of  masonry  in  the  world.  By  a  plumb 
line  suspended  from  the  top  inside,  not  three-eighths  of  an 
inch  deflection  has  been  noticed.  Lightning  has  struck  the 
apex  many  times,  but  so  solid  and  massive  is  the  shaft  that 
it  has  thus  far  defied  the  elements. 

An  immense  iron  frame  work  supports  the  machinery  of 
the  elevator,  while  winding  about  it  are  the  stairs  of  fifty 
flights  containing  eighteen  steps  each,  900  in  all.  The  stair- 
case is  wide  and  of  easy  ascent.  Every  fifty  feet  there  is  a 
platform  which  extends  to  the  elevator,  so  that  visitors  can 
get  on  or  off  the  elevator  at  many  different  places.  Twenty 
minutes  are  required  to  walk  to  the  top,  while  the  elevator 
will  carry  you  up  in  seven  minutes.  The  interior  of  the  ele- 
vator is  lighted  by  electricity,  as  there  are  no  openings  in 
the  shaft  except  the  entrance  door  and  small  windows  at 
the  top.  It  costs  the  government  about  $20,000  a  year  to 
take  visitors  up  and  down.  The  lookout  platform  is  a  large 
chamber  with  an  area  of  over  1,000  square  feet  and  there 
are  two  windows  on  each  face  of  the  monument.  It  is 
so  high  that  we  seem  to  have  cut  loose  from  the  world,  and 
the  city  below  appears  like  a  model  in  miniature. 

In  the  rubble-stone  masonry  in  the  lower  interior  walls 
are  set  a  number  of  memorial  stones,  sent  to  the  Washington 
Monument  Society  by  States,  corporations,  and  foreign  gov- 
ernments to  be  inserted  in  the  monument ;  but  in  the  upper 
walls  no  such  stones  were  set,  as  they  would  have  weakened 


SUGGESTIVE  MEMORIAL  STONES.  457 

the  shaft.  Many  of  them  are  elaborately  carved  and  cost  a 
great  deal  of  money.  They  are  of  marble,  fine  gran- 
ite, and  brown  stone,  and  among  them  is  one  block  of  pure 
copper.  There  are  stones  from  America's  battle-fields,  and 
from  the  classic* temples  of  the  old  world ;  some  are  rich  in 
historic  associations,  others  are  the  expression  of  the  friendly 
interest  of  older  nations.  The  little  republic,  Switzerland, 
sent  to  the  younger,  greater  republic  a  block  of  sandstone, 
eloquent  in  its  suggestions  of  the  long  struggle  for  liberty. 
The  inscription  reads : 

"  This  block  of  stone  is  from  the  original  chapel  built  to 
William  Tell  in  1338  on  Lake  Lucerne,  Switzerland,  at  the 
spot  where  he  escaped  from  Gessler." 

The  keystone  that  binds  the  interior  ribs  of  stone  that  sup- 
port the  marble  facing  of  the  pyramidal  cap  of  the  obelisk 
weighs  nearly  five  tons.  On  the  cap  was  placed  a  tip  or 
point  of  aluminum,  a  composition  metal  which  resembles 
polished  silver,  selected  because  of  its  lightness  and  freedom 
from  oxidation,  and  because  it  will  always  remain  bright. 
The  tip  is  nine  inches  in  height  and  weighs  six  and  one- 
quarter  pounds.  On  it  are  inscribed  the  words  Laus  Deo. 

Many  prominent  residents  of  Washington  have  never 
been  to  the  top  of  the  monument  or  even  within  it,  but 
strangers  rarely  fail  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity. 
In  1900  there  were  over  165,000  visitors. 

The  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art  is  an  enduring  monument 
to  the  philanthropy  of  the  late  William  Wilson  Corcoran. 
He  laid  the  foundation  of  an  immense  fortune  during  the 
Mexican  War,  and  early  decided  to  devote  a  portion  of  his 
wealth  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men.  His  charities,  ex- 
ceeding altogether  $5,000,000,  have  a  leading  place  in  many 
of  the  institutions  of  the  city.  The  Gallery  of  Art  was 
begun  in  1859,  but  the  Civil  War  interrupted  its  progress, 
and  it  was  not  until  1869  that  Mr.  Corcoran  deeded  it  to  the 
trustees  for  "the  perpetual  establishment  and  encourage- 


458        ART  TREASURES  OF  THE  CORCORAN   GALLERY. 

ment  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  the  Fine  Arts  generally," 
with  the  condition  that  on  two  days  of  the  week,  at  least, 
it  should  be  open  to  visitors  without  any  pecuniary  charge. 
The  present  magnificent  building  was  not  completed  and 
occupied  until  1897.  It  is  constructed  of  Georgia  marble, 
and  its  solid  white  walls  are  broken  only  by  open  panels 
used  for  ventilating  the  galleries. 

Broad  marble  steps  lead  from  the  entrance  into  the  main 
atrium,  which  is  170  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide.  Forty 
fluted  columns  of  stone  support  the  ceiling,  through  which 
pours  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  many  beautiful  white  marble 
figures  and  the  numerous  busts  which  line  the  walls.  Large 
rooms  opening  from  this  main  atrium  also  contain  casts  of 
the  more  noted  works  of  ancient  sculpture,  while  others  are 
devoted  to  original  marbles,  bronzes,  and  artistic  curios. 

In  an  adjoining  room  is  a  large  collection  of  famous 
bronzes.  Close  by  is  a  remarkable  collection  of  works  of 
Japanese  art  and  of  reproductions  of  unique  metallic  objects 
of  art  preserved  in  European  museums. 

From  the  western  side  of  this  atrium  rises  a  white  marble 
staircase,  fifteen  feet  in  width,  leading  to  the  second-story 
atrium,  the  ceiling  of  which,  like  that  below,  is  supported  by 
columns  of  stone.  The  walls  of  the  room  and  of  the  gal- 
leries opening  from  it  are  devoted  to  a  collection  of  paintings 
which  in  value  and  excellence  is  surpassed  only  by  few.  In 
all  there  are  some  250  large  paintings  belonging  to  the  insti- 
tution, while  there  are  a  number  which  have  been  loaned 
from  private  collections  and  which  cost  thousands  of  dollars. 
Altogether  the  building  contains  over  4,000  works  of  art,  all 
of  real  merit,  for  no  space  is  sacrificed  to  anything  but  costly 
originals  or  reproductions  of  famous  originals.  The  Cor- 
coran donations  amount  to  $1,600,000,  while  $350,000  more 
have  been  paid  by  the  trustees  for  paintings  and,  as  many 
valuable  works  have  been  given  in  private  bequests,  the 
whole  value  of  the  collection  is  over  $2,000,000. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE   AND  ITS  MYSTERIES  —  HOW  GOVERN- 

MENT  POSITIONS  ARE  OBTAINED  —  WOMEN  IN  THE 

DEPARTMENTS  —  WOMAN'S  INFLUENCE 

AT  THE  CAPITOL. 

What  Is  the  Civil  Service  ?  —  How  Heads  of  Bureaus  Are  Appointed  — 
The  "Spoils"  System  —  Difficulty  of  Obtaining  a  Government 'Posi- 
tion—  The  Importance  of  Having  a  "Political  Pull"  —  Attraction  of 
Good  Pay  and  Short  Hours  —  Doing  as  Little  as  Possible  —  How  To 
Obtain  a  Government  Position  —  The  Chances  of  Getting  It  —  Influ- 
ence of  Local  Politicians  —  The  Government  Blue  Book — Complex 
Rules  and  Mysterious  Injunctions — Taking  an  Examination  —  A 
Mysterious  Marking  Process  — What  Is  "An  Eligible  "  ?  — Bitter  Dis- 
appointments and  Shattered  Hopes  — Position  Brokers  —  Mr.  Parasite 
in  Office  —  Abject  Political  Beggars  —  Arrogant  Office-Holders  —  An 
Ignoble  Side  of  Human  Nature  —  Faithful,  Courteous,  and  Earnest 
Office-Holders  —  Marvelous  Growth  of  the  Civil  Army. 


N"  a  world  abounding  in  imperfect  men  and  women 
it  is  needless  to  expect  a  perfect  Civil  Service, 
Almost  every  line  of  human  activity  offers 
abundant  opportunities  for  the  display  of  human 
frailties,  and  nowhere,  probably,  are  more  offered 
than  in  the  bestowal  of  that  vast  patronage  arising 
from  the  fact  that  Uncle  Sam  requires  the  help  of  thousands 
of  human  hands  to  do  the  work  which  he  plans.  There 
were  abuses  enough  in  the  old  days  under  "  the  spoils  sys- 
tem," inaugurated  by  Jackson  to  satisfy  the  clamor  of  the 
unruly  mob  which  poured  into  Washington  after  him.  Yet 
these  abuses  did  not  cease  with  the  passage  of  the  Civil 
Service  Act  of  1883. 

(461) 


462  DIVISIONS   OF  THE  CIVIL   SERVICE. 

Eefined  theorists  in  their  editorial  sanctums  and  en- 
dowed college  chairs,  know  exactly  how  the  Civil  Service 
could  be  reformed.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  than  perfect, 
they  argue,  if  every  appointment  depends  upon  examination 
as  to  qualifications,  and  promotion  is  conditional  upon  effi- 
ciency in  the  performance  of  duties  ?  But  it  is  otherwise, 
although  the  majority  of  people  seem  to  have  the  impression 
that  inasmuch  as  a  Civil  Service  Law  and  a  Civil  Service 
Commission  exist,  the  reform  is  fully  accomplished. 

The  Civil  Service  may  be  divided  into  three  general 
divisions.  First,  there  are  the  heads  of  bureaus  and  divi- 
sions, with  a  considerable  number  of  immediate  subordinates 
who  always  were,  and  still  are,  "appointed  by  the  President 
or  heads  of  departments.  They  come  in  with  an  adminis- 
tration, and,  as  a  rule,  go  out  with  it.  No  one  questions  the 
justice  of  this,  because,  under  the  Constitution,  the  President 
is  directly  responsible  for  his  administration,  and  to  force 
upon  him  important  executive  agents  out  of  sympathy  with 
his  policy  might  lead  to  disaster,  or  give  him  the  opportunity 
of  shifting  the  responsibility,  if  matters  did  not  go  well. 

Second,  there  are  those  —  not  a  large  number  compara- 
tively—  occupying  positions  of  importance,  whose  services 
could  not,  without  disadvantage,  be  dispensed  with.  When 
the  head  of  a  department  enters  upon  his  duties  he  is,  until 
he  has  mastered  the  practical  operations  of  the  governmental 
machine,  more  or  less  dependent  upon  a  certain  small  class 
of  office-holders  who,  from  long  experience  and  study,  have 
mastered  the  ordinary  modes  of  procedure. 

Third,  there  is  that  largest  class,  composed  of  all  the 
clerks,  copyists,  stenographers,  and  laborers.  Under  the  old 
"  spoils "  system,  a  large  proportion  of  these  were  almost 
certain  to  be  removed  whenever  a  new  administration  came 
upon  the  scene.  Many  of  these  people  perform  duties  of 
such  a  routine  character  that  it  is  possible  at  any  time  to 
replace  one  with  another  without  the  least  jar  upon  the 


THE  IMPORTANCE   OF  A   POLITICAL   PULL.  463 

wheels  of  the  government.  About  100,000  of  this  class  are 
now  under  what  is  known  as  the  classified  service ;  that  is, 
in  the  elaborate  system  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission, 
their  positions  are  classified  under  different  branches  —  just 
as  so  many  bugs  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  are  classified 
under  genus  and  species. 

One  of  the  evils  attending  the  enforced  exodus  of  many 
people  every  four  years  was  that  the  just  suffered  too  often 
with  the  unjust,  and  it  is  certain  that  government  positions 
of  this  lower  grade  did  not  offer  the  inducements  to  men 
and  women  of  good  character  and  ability  which  are  now 
offered,  through  a  reasonable,  although  sometimes  delusive 
expectation  of  permanency. 

If  you,  our  readers,  should  aspire  to  a  government  posi- 
tion, we  will  tell  you  how  to  get,  or  try  to  get  one ;  premis- 
ing that  if  you  should  be  successful  and  should  be  so 
unfortunate  as  not  to  leave  it  shortly,  voluntarily  or  other- 
wise, .  you  will  never  be  anything  else  but  a  plodding 
clerk,  and  in  time  will  become  one  of  the  army  of  hopeless, 
incurable  inmates  of  a  government  institution. 

A  Civil  Service  examination  is  something  like  vaccina- 
tion. You  "  take  "  the  latter,  and  may  have  small-pox  and 
may  not ;  probably  not.  You  take  the  former  and  may  get 
a  government  position  and  may  not ;  probably  not.  The 
chances  are  about  999  to  one  that  you  will  not,  unless  you 
have  good  endorsers  or  "  backers,"  as  they  are  called  at 
the  Capital.  '  You  must,  therefore,  secure  the  endorsement  of 
your  Senators,  Congressmen,  and  those  leading  men  in  your 
locality  whom  your  Senators  and  Congressmen  recognize  as 
influential  at  election  times.  If  you  know  of  a  man  who 
can  control  a  hundred  or  more  votes  at  a  congressional  elec- 
tion, get  his  name.  No  matter  what  his  position,  if  he  can 
marshal  a  few  votes,  his  name  is  worth  more  than  that  of  a 
man  of  world- wide  reputation  who  can  command  no  vote 
but  his  own.  Certain  endorsements  must  go  in  with  your 


464  TAKING  THE  EXAMINATION. 

application  to  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  but  it  is 
only  a  matter  of  form.  Give  them  the  names  of  well-known 
men  who  have  no  political  influence.  Send  the  endorse- 
ments of  those  who  command  votes  to  your  Congressmen. 
With  them  it  isn't  a  matter  of  form,  but  of  business. 

The  average  person  who  desires  a  government  position 
has  no  particular  choice  except  that  he  prefers  one  attended 
with  a  good  salary.  There  is  a  so-called  Blue  Book,  which 
now  consists  of  two  enormous  volumes,  enumerating  all  of 
the  many  government  positions  and  the  salary  or  fees 
attached  to  each.  You  may  pore  over  these  volumes, 
select  any  position  you  think  you  would  like,  and  try 
for  it.  In  the  old  days  you  might  have  "  fired  at  random  " 
and  in  several  different  directions ;  but  now  you  must  make 
application  for  some  particular  position  in  which,  you  are 
distinctly  told,  there  is  no  vacancy;  though  there  may  be 
one  —  some  time. 

The  various  positions  are  enumerated  by  class  in  a  Man- 
ual which  the  commission  will  send  to  you  upon  request. 
Folded  into  this  Manual  is  the  clearest  thing  about  it  —  a 
large  schedule  of  the  times  and  places  for  holding  examina- 
tions for  the  current  year.  At  one  of  these  particular  times 
and  places  you  must  take  a  particular  examination  for  a  par- 
ticular position,  and  this  examination  will  cost  you  nothing. 
You  are  not  permitted  to  double  your  chances  by  being  ex- 
amined for  another  position  at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings. 

If,  you  are  so  fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  present  your 
application  papers  according  to  the  elaborate  rules,  regula- 
tions, and  provisos,  you  will  receive  a  card  which  entitles 
you  to  admission  to  the  next  examination  in  your  section  of 
the  country.  You  are  ushered  into  this  ordeal  very  much  as 
if  on  trial  for  your  life,  and  the  probabilities  are  that,  after 
undergoing  an  undue  [strain  of  the  nervous  system  for  two 
days  of  six  hours  each,  you  will  come  out  of  it  with  the 
feeling  that  the  evidence  is  all  against  you 


AN  INTRICATE    "  MARKING  "    PROCESS.  465 

Nevertheless  the  verdict  does  not  come  like  a  thunder- 
clap. You  are  distinctly  warned  in  the  Manual  not  to  ex- 
pect a  notification  as  to  whether  you  passed  or  not  within 
four  months.  This  delay  is  because  the  process  of  marking 
is  so  intricate  and  so  occult  that  the  ultimate  result  can  only 
come  with  time,  and  lots  of  it.  The  rule  is : 

"  Mark  every  faulty  answer  according  to  its  value  on  a 
scale  of  100,  as  herein  specially  directed,  and  deduct  the 
sum  of  the  error  marks  of  each  answer  from  100.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  sum  of  the  error  marks  of  each  answer 
and  100  will  be  the  mark  of  the  answer." 

The  transparency  of  this  is  completely  destroyed  by  a 
vast  number  of  special  or  supplementary  regulations,  more 
or  less  definite  —  not  simply  for  fixing  the  gravity  of  errors, 
but  for  providing  a  large  supply  of  possible  errors  over  and 
above  any  that  flesh  is  ordinarily  heir  to. 

In  arithmetic,  for  instance,  10  is  deducted,  according  to 
rules,  for  "  irrelevant  work  not  canceled,"  the  examiners,  of 
course,  being  the  judges  of  the  irrelevancy,  and  they  are 
human  beings ;  10  more  is  deducted  "  for  complex  statement, 
right  results  being  produced";  there  is  another  deduction 
for  "failure  to  indicate  the  answer  to  a  problem  by  the  let- 
ters cAns.' "  But  the  complications  do  not  cease  here.  These 
examinations  in  Writing,  Spelling,  Arithmetic,  and  so  forth, 
are  called  in  Civil  Service  parlance  "  basic."  They  have  three 
grades,  and  one  of  these  grades  is  common  to  a  bewildering 
variety  of  other  examinations  termed  "  auxiliary."  These  lat 
ter  are  supposed  to  be  given  with  special  reference  to  the 
position  you  have  applied  for,  which,  for  the  sake  of  con- 
venience, we  will  suppose  to  be  that  of  an  elevator  conductor. 
We  will  assume  that  you  have  had  long  experience  in  that 
line,  and  possess  a  perfect  knowledge  of  requirements,  and 
would  be  a  most  desirable  man  for  the  place. 

In  your  auxiliary  examination  for  this  position,  as  for 
others,  certain  acquirements  have  certain  "weights"  in 


466  WHAT   IT   IS   TO   BE 

determining  your  ultimate  mark.  This  is  really  something 
of  an  occult  process,  though  given  the  flavor  of  pure  mathe- 
matics by  the  general  rule  of  the  commission,  which  is  as 
follows : 

"  Multiply  the  average  obtained  on  each  subject  by  the 
relative  weight  of  that  subject ;  add  the  products ;  divide  the 
sum  of  the  products  by  the  sum  of  the  relative  weights." 

In  your  examination  for  an  elevator  conductor,  Spelling, 
Arithmetic,  Letter  Writing,  Penmanship,  and  Copying  from 
Plain  Copy,  each  have  an  arbitrary  "weight"  of  16,  or  80 
altogether,  while  experience  has  a  weight  of  20.  Thus  you 
might  know  more  about  running  an  elevator  than  all  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commissioners  and  examiners  together,  but 
fail  to  pass  this  examination  for  a  conductor.  And  the 
applicant  who  sat  next  to  you  and  who  never  saw  an  elevator 
in  his  life  might  receive  a  high  mark.  He  might  receive  the 
appointment,  moreover,  not  because  he  really  surpassed  you  in 
Spelling,  Arithmetic,  etc.,  but  because  in  the  opinion  of 
some  examiner  he  had  less  "  irrelevant  work  not  canceled  " 
and  less  "  complex  statements,  right  results  being  produced," 
and  so  on.  Other  things  that  you  could  by  no  means  antici. 
pate  may  influence  the  result. 

But,  if  as  a  result  of  this  mysterious  marking  process, 
you  should  emerge  with  an  ultimate  mark  above  70,  you 
would  then  be  what  is  called  "  an  eligible,"  and  in  about 
four  months  after  the  examination  would  be  notified  of  the 
fact.  "  Eligibles  "  are  simply  those  people  whose  names  may 
be  submitted  to  the  appointive  power  in  any  particular 
department,  in  case  there  is  a  vacancy  to  be  filled.  If  the 
appointive  officer  calls  for  eligibles,  he  is  under  no  obliga- 
tions, whatsoever  to  appoint  the  one  having  the  highest 
mark,  which  he  knows  is  no  index  of  real  qualifications,  under 
the  circumstances.  Now,  as  ever,  the  political  endorsement 
determines  results,  and  unless  your  Senator  or  Congressman 
insists  upon  your  appointment  you  are  likely  to  remain  an 


WOMEN  WORKERS   IN   THE   DEPARTMENTS.  467 

eligible  for  the  period  of  one  year.  Then  you  cease  to  be 
even  that  unless  you  take  another  examination. 

Washington  is  full  of  eligibles,  and  they  are  scattered  all 
over  the  country.  They  take  their  examinations  regularly 
as  the  time  comes  around,  and  are  always  eligible  but 
are  never  appointed.  They  call  on  senators  and  representa- 
tives, receive  promises,  and  go  on  for  a  month  or  two  with 
increased  expectations.  Every  time  the  postman  rings  they 
fly  to  the  door  expecting  an  envelope  bearing  a  departmental 
mark.  But  it  never  comes.  They  may  have  passed  splendid 
examinations,  but  they  have  not  the  "  political  pull." 

One  of  the  results  of  these  highly-complex  proceedings 
has  been  the  institution  of  a  class  of  people  who  stand,  or 
seek  to  stand,  in  the  position  of  attorney  to  applicants  for 
government  positions.  At  best  they  can  only  suggest 
to  you  how  to  become  an  "  eligible."  So-called  Civil  Serv- 
ice Schools  have  cropped  up  everywhere,  and  the  only 
reason  for  their  existence  is  that,  even  to  citizens  having 
education,  honesty,  energy,  ability,  and  experience  well 
fitted  to  make  them  good  public  servants,  the  processes  of 
the  system  are  opaque  and  delusive. 

About  one-fourth  of  the  government  employees  are 
women.  In  passing  through  various  departments,  we  have 
seen  them  busily  at  work  and  have  noted  how  wonderfully 
well  adapted  to  much  of  the  government  work  are  the  nim- 
ble fingers  and  quick  brains  of  women.  Some  have  charged 
the  government  with  injustice  because  the  scale  of  wages  to 
women  is  not  so  high  as  to  men,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  if 
this  be  a  sin,  Uncle  Sam  is  less  a  sinner  than  private  corpo- 
rations. Nowhere  can  women  receive  the  wages  Uncle 
Sam  pays  them.  Stenographers  that  could  not  possibly 
receive  over  $8  a  week  in  private  offices  are  paid  from  $15 
to  $18  by  the  government.  Some  of  the  skilled  counters  or 
linguists  receive  handsome  salaries,  though  $1,800  is  the 
highest  paid. 


468  THE  ARMY  OP  GOVERNMENT  EMPLOYEES. 

It  was  Milton  who  used  the  words  "  a  fawning  parasite," 
but  it  applies  to  many  an  official  of  to-day  at  Washington, 
who  having  secured  some  position  in  the  service  feels  toler- 
ably secure.  Such  a  one  quickly  forgets  that  he  was  once  a 
political  beggar,  that  he  pulled  every  wire,  flattered,  and 
cajoled,  crawled  in  the  dust,  as  it  were,  to  get  appointed. 
The  sense  of  gratitude,  rarely  strong  in  any  man,  is  with 
continued  office  sure  to  die  out. 

But  the  somewhat  more  secure  tenure  of  government 
office  resulting  from  the  present  Civil  Service  system  does 
not  make  such  creatures  of  all  men.  There  is  a  great  differ- 
ence in  men,  to  start  with.  Most  of  the  classified  officials 
are  courteous,  obliging,  faithful,  and  earnest  men  who  escape 
the  corroding  influence  of  their  surroundings.  But  there 
will  always  be  a  generous  supply  of  weak  souls.  It  is  the 
most  abject  political  beggar  who  usually  becomes  the  most 
arrogant  office-holder. 

The  growth  of  the  civil  army  has  been  marvelous.  The 
first  issue  of  the  Blue  Book  in  1792  shows  that  there  were 
only  134  employees  of  the  government  in  all  the  depart- 
ments. In  1841  there  were  only  sixty-four  employees  in  the 
Treasury  Department,  and  the  Pension  Office  was  run  by 
four  clerks  and  one  messenger,  but  now  in  these  depart- 
ments alone  the  employees  number  thousands.  The  gov- 
ernment now  gives  employment  to  more  than  20,000  per- 
sons in  Washington,  to  whom  is  paid  over  $23,000,000  a 
year.  This  growth  is  sure  to  continue.  Every  Congress 
finds  some  new  work  for  the  government  to  do,  as  the 
federal  government  gradually  increases  and  concentrates  its 
power  at  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XXX.  * 

OFFICE-SEEKERS  AND  OFFICE-SEEKING  IN  WASHINGTON- 

THEIR   DIFFICULTIES  AND  DANGERS  — HOW 

PLACE  AND  POWER  ARE  WON. 

Those,  to  Whom  Washington  Is  a  Whited  Sepulcher  and  a  Sham  —  An 
Omnivorous  Crowd  of  Place-  and  Fortune-Hunters  —  "Still  They 
Come "  —  Chronic  and  Ubiquitous  Office-Seekers  —  Slim  Chances  of 
the  Average  Applicant  —  Beguiled  by  Anticipation  —  "  Placed  on  File 
and  Favorably  Considered"  —  Awakening  From  a  Delusion  —  "No 
Vacancies  as  Yet " —  Making  Applicants  "  Feel  Good  " — Facing  Want 
and  Destitution  —  Dejected  and  Despairing  Office-Seekers  —  Their 
Last  Hope  —  Fresh  Victims  Every  Year  —  A  Pathetic  Incident  — 
Women  in  Quest  for  Office  —  Remarkable  Story  of  a  Young  Lady 
Applicant  —  Lincoln's  Aversion  to  Office-Seekers  —  An  Interesting 
Story  —  A  Humorous  Incident  —  A  Visit  From  a  Long- Haired  Back- 
woodsman—  "  I'd  Like  To  See  the  Gineral." 


EW  visitors  to  "Washington,  "on  pleasure  bent,'' 
could  ever  be  persuaded  that  this  beautiful  city 
with  its  magnificent  buildings,  its  splendid  ave- 
nues, and  beautiful  public  grounds,  has  proven 
to  be  to  many  only  a  whited  sepulcher  and  a  sham ! 
Probably  there  is  no  other  spot  in  the  world  less 
suited  to  fulfill  the  wants  and  expectations  of  the  omnivo- 
rous crowd  of  place-  and  fortune-hunters  that  annually  flocks 
to  our  national  Capital,  and  yet  the  constant  cry  is,  "  Still 
they  come ! " 

In  this  motley  throng  may  be  found  the  inevitable 
claimant,  the  pension  applicant,  the  literary  itinerant,  the 
broken  gentleman  of  fortune,  the  professional  blackleg, 
third-rate  lawyers,  and  last  but  not  least,  the  chronic  and 

(469) 


470  THE  DELUDED   OFFICE-SEEKER. 

ubiquitous  office-seeker.  All  these  and  many  more  —  repre 
sentatives  of  nearly  every  walk  in  life  —  periodically  invade 
the  city  in  droves,  undismayed  by  the  fate  of  those  who 
have  preceded  them.  Before  the  advent  of  "civil  service 
reform,"  Washington,  at  the  best,  was  a  poor  place  for  an 
office-seeker;  but,  under  the  present  conditions,  restricted 
and  handicapped  by  favoritism  and  red  tape,  and  practically 
debarred  by  the  uncertainties  of  competitive  examination, 
the  chances  of  the  average  aspirant  are  one  in  a  thousand. 

To  a  novice  seeking  governmental  employment,  Wash- 
ington at  the  start  wears  a  rosy-hued  tint.  He  is  charmed 
by  variety  and  beguiled  by  anticipation.  His  examination, 
under  the  rules  of  the  "civil  service,"  has  been  adjudged 
satisfactory,  his  application  "placed  on  file  and  favorably 
considered,"  and  the  overjoyed  novice,  believing  his  appoint- 
ment and  installation  only  a  question  of  time,  contentedly 
strolls  around  the  city,  and  in  his  elation  imagines  Wash- 
ington to  be  a  perfect  Elysium !  It  sometimes  takes  weeks 
to  awaken  him  from  his  delusion.  A  couple  of  months 
glide  by  and  the  mercury  in  his 'mental  thermometer  has 
steadily  declined  to  zero ;  his  lean  pocketbook  shows  unmis- 
takable signs  of  depletion;  and  in  response  to  his  anxious 
inquiry  the  stereotyped  reply  from  the  Rotation  Bureau, 
"  No  vacancies  as  yet,"  wearies  him  by  the  monotony  of  its 
frequency  and  no  longer  lulls  him  into  fancied  security,  for 
he  is  just  beginning  to  understand  that  there  are  hundreds 
of  other  applicants  besides  himself,  and  that  the  chief  of  the 
bureau  is  a  suave  fellow  who  likes  to  make  every  one  "  feel 
good." 

His  hopes  of  obtaining  a  "  position  "  are  every  day  grow- 
ing less,  and  anxious  forebodings  succeed  his  late  sanguine 
anticipations.  He  would  gladly  shake  off  from  his  feet  the 
dust  of  this  disappointing  city,  but  he  has  improvidently  ex- 
pended all  his  money  and  is  fairly  stranded  in  this  modern 
Sodom!  Sometimes  he  has  recourse  to  the  pawn  shops  — 


DISAPPOINTMENT  AND   DESPAIR.  471 

but  this  precarious  source  of  revenue  is  soon  exhausted,  and 
want  and  destitution  stare  him  in  the  face !  The  session  of 
Congress  closes,  his  Congressman  hurries  home,  and  the 
summer  breezes  softly  stir  the  foliage  in  the  Capitol  grounds 
where  our  half -starved  office-seeker  wanders,  dejected  and 
despairing.  His  only  hope,  now,  lies  in  the  approach  of  a 
new  session  of  Congress,  but  that  is  too  far  away  to  be  a 
solace  to  him.  He  even  curses  the  unlucky  hour  that 
tempted  him  to  leave  home  in  quest  of  that  elusive  "  office." 
This  is  no  fancy  sketch,  for  year  after  year  the  same  scene 
is  enacted ;  with  dreary  monotony  fresh  victims  are  added 
to  the  list  of  disappointed  office-seekers  who  heedlessly,  like 
the  moth,  destroy  themselves  in  the  incandescent  flame. 

Only  a  short  time  ago  a  little  incident,  trifling  in  itself, 
but  yet  pregnant  with  meaning,  occurred  one  afternoon  in 
front  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  depot.  A  hearse 
drove  up  and  deposited  on  the  platform  a  rough  wooden 
box  containing  the  coffined  remains  of  one  who  was  appar- 
ently a  stranger  in  Washington.  Accompanying  it  was  a 
small  battered  trunk  and  an  umbrella.  There  was  some- 
thing very  touching  and  pathetic  in  this  simple  funeral  cor- 
tege. It  told  a  silent  but  impressive  tale  of  blasted  hopes 
and  a  lonely  death  far  from  home  of  a  disappointed  office- 
seeker. 

Young,  educated,  refined  women,  who,  in  their  eager 
quest  for  employment,  have  ventured  into  Washington,  in- 
sufficiently provided  with  money,  have  encountered  chilling 
disappointments  and  deep  mortification. 

During  President  Cleveland's  administration,  a  young 
lady  from  a  large  city  in  the  West  came  to  Washington  in 
search  of  office;  she  brought  with  her  an  octavo  volume 
containing  hundreds  of  recommendations  from  the  leading 
citizens  and  the  entire  municipality  of  her  native  city.  She 
had  voluminous  written  testimonials  from  the  most  distin- 
guished clergymen,  urging  her  appointment.  She  had  the 


472  ''FEW  DIE  AND  NONE  RESIGN." 

names  of  all  the  prominent  business  men,  and  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

It  was  a  remarkable  and  overwhelming  exhibit  of  the 
strength  and  number  of  her  friends.  It  demonstrated  un- 
questionably her  popularity  and  worth,  yet  she  could  not 
procure  the  smallest  and  most  insignificant  position  in  the 
gift  of  the  government,  and  was  finally  compelled  to  bor- 
row money  of  her  Congressman  to  return  home. 

It  used  to  be  a  common  phrase  that  no  one  need  apply 
for  office;  since  "few  die  and  none  resign."  This  saying 
was  illustrated  by  a  little  incident  that  happened  during 
President  Buchanan's  administration.  A  clerk  in  the  Quar- 
termaster-General's department,  while  on  a  leave  of  absence, 
fell  ill,  and  it  was  officially  reported  that  he  could  not  live. 
Straightway  fifty  applications  for  the  impending  vacancy 
were  filed  in  the  Quartermaster-General's  office.  The  young 
man  not  only  perversely  got  well,  and  thus  disappointed  the 
hopes  of  the  fifty  aspirants,  but  held  on  to  his  office  for 
over  forty  years  afterward. 

It  is  not  commonly  known  that  for  many  years  residents 
and  natives  of  Washington  have  enjoyed  a  priority  in  the 
matter  of  distribution  of  office;  notwithstanding  the  mis- 
leading statistical  reports  on  the  subject,  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  governmental  employees  at  our  national  Cap- 
ital, though  ostensibly  booked  as  coming  from  the  States, 
are  genuine,  bone  fide  residents  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Office-seekers  are  by  no  means  confined  to  that  class  who 
are  in  search  of  ordinary  clerical  work ;  there  are  a  corre- 
sponding number  of  applicants  for  distinguished  positions  in 
the  gift  of  the  President  or  national  Legislature,  and  ambi- 
tious aspirants  often  pursue  President  and  Congress  with 
the  same  degree  of  pertinacity  that  marks  the  contest  for 
places  of  lesser  note. 

The  collector  of  the  port  of  Boston,  General  McNeil, 
who  was  a  Democrat  and  an  appointee  of  President  Polk> 


PATHETIC   STORY  OF  GENERAL  MCNEIL.  473 

though  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption,  risked  a  journey 
from  Boston  to  Washington  in  the  depth  of  winter  expressly 
to  secure  a  continuance  of  his  office.  The  Whigs  were  de- 
capitating their  political  opponents  in  every  direction  and  an 
effort  had  been  made  to  remove  General  McNeil. 

When  he  appeared  before  the  President,  wasted  almost 
to  a  shadow,  and  modestly  asked  for  his  family's  sake,  the 
privilege  of  retaining  his  office,  the  President  was  greatly 
affected. 

"  My  dear  General,"  he  replied,  feelingly,  "you  need  not 
have  gone  to  the  trouble  and  inconvenience  of  taking  this 
long  journey  in  your  delicate  condition  of  health;  I  have 
not  the  slightest  intention  of  making  any  change  in  the 
Boston  collectorship,  nor  shall  I,  while  you  continue  to  re- 
main there." 

General  McNeil  returned  to  his  hotel,  gratified  and 
touched  by  the  cordial  assurances  of  the  President. 

The  next  morning  he  was  found  ill  in  bed,  scarcely  able 
to  breathe,  and  before  a  physician  could  be  summoned  he 
was  dead. 

President  Lincoln  had  a  marked  dislike  for  office-seekers. 
Often  his  first  salutation  to  a  visitor  was,  "  Well,  sir,  I  am 
glad  to  know  that  you  have  not  come  after  an  office."  One 
day  a  delegation  of  leading  Republicans  from  one  of  the 
States  called  upon  him  to  secure  the  appointment  of  a  cer- 
tain Colonel  M —  —  as  collector  of  the  port.  Lincoln  re- 
ceived them  very  graciously,  and  kept  up  such  a  running  fire 
of  questions  relative  to  the  political  situation  that  the  dele- 
gation got  no  chance  to  introduce  the  all-important  subject. 
At  last  the  chairman,  growing  desperate,  blurted  out : 

"  Mr.  President,  we  have  come  here  to-day  to  present  to 
your  favorable  consideration,  as  a  candidate  for  the  collec- 
torship of  our  city,  the  name  of  our  honored  and  distin- 
guished townsman,  Colonel  M .  He  is  preeminently 

qualified  for  the  position  —  not  only  for  his  administrative 


474  HUMOROUS  PHASES  OF  OFFICE-SEEKING. 

ability,  but  his  invincible  loyalty  and  attachment  to  Bepul> 
lican  principles.  No  honors,  sir,  could  be  showered  on  him 
that  could  elevate  him  higher  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow- 


men." 


Mr.  Lincoln  listened  attentively  to  this  panegyrical  ref- 
erence to  their  favorite,  and  then  addressed  the  astonished 
deputation  as  follows : 

"  Gentlemen,  it  gives  me  much  gratification  to  hear  the 

praise  bestowed  upon  Colonel  M .  Such  a  man  needs 

no  office ;  it  can  confer  on  him  no  additional  advantage,  or 
add  prestige  to  his  well-earned  fame.  You  are  right,  Mr. 
Chairman, '  no  honors  could  be  showered  upon  him  that  would 
elevate  him  higher  in1  the  estimation  of  his  fellow-men.'  To 
appoint  so  good  and  excellent  a  gentleman  to  a  paltry  place 
like  this  would  be  an  act  of  injustice  to  him.  I  shall  reserve 
the  office  for  some  poor  politician  who  needs  it." 

And  thus  saying  Mr.  Lincoln  politely  dismissed  the  dele- 
gation. 

Office-seeking  has  its  humorous  phases  as  well  as  its  dark, 
silhouette  shadows. 

A  young  man,  evidently  a  stranger  in  Washington,  burst 
into  the  General  Land  Office  one  day  in  a  state  of  great  ex- 
citement. 

"  Say,"  he  shouted  to  one  of  the  clerks,  "  I  hear  there's  a 
vacancy  in  this  bureau  —  has  any  one  applied  for  it  yet  ? " 

"  None  that  I  am  aware  of,"  was  the  clerk's  suave  reply. 

"  Then  put  me  down  as  the  first  applicant ;  '  First  come, 
first  served,'  you  know." 

The  clerk  gravely  informed  him  that  he  would  have  to 
go  before  the  Civil  Service  board  for  competitive  examina- 
tion. 

The  young  man  hurried  off  under  great  excitement,  fully 
convinced  that  his  early  application  had  secured  the  desired 
appointment. 

When  General  Cass  was  Secretary  of  State  under  James 


THE  BACKWOODSMAN'S  QUERY.  475 

Buchanan  he  was  noted  for  his  dignity  and  exclusiveness.  It 
was  very  seldom  he  granted  an  interview  to  any  one  unless 
he  had  matters  to  discuss  of  great  political  weight. 

Towards  the  close  of  a  rather  busy  afternoon,  a  stalwart 
backwoodsman  with  a  long,  flowing  gray  beard  presented 
himself  before  the  chief  clerk. 

"  I'd  like  to  see  the  gineral." 

"  The  Secretary  is  too  much  engaged  to  receive  anyone," 
said  the  chief  clerk.  "  Please  state  your  business  to  me." 

"  I  haint  got  no  biz'ness,"  was  the  blunt  reply.  "  I  jis' 
come  to  ax  him  a  question." 

General  Cass  overheard  him,  and  opening  the  door  that 
led  into  his  private  office  he  abruptly  accosted  his  visitor. 
"  Here  I  am,  my  man,  now  what  is  the  question  ? " 

"  Wall,  gineral,"  said  the  old  backwoodsman,  "  as  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  "Washington,  I  thought  I'd  call  on  you.  Last 
fall  you  made  a  stump  speech  in  my  district  and  you  said,  as 
nigh  as  I  kin  recollect,  '  the  office  should  seek  the  man  and 
not  the  man  the  office.'  Didn't  you  say  that  ? " 

"  Yes,"  responded  Cass,  approvingly.  "  I  made  use  of 
some  such  language,  I  believe." 

"  And  the  fellows  cheered  and  hollered,  didn't  they  ?  " 

"  I  think  they  did,"  rejoined  the  interested  and  now  smil- 
ing Secretary. 

"Wall,  gineral,"  pursued  the  backwoodsman,  "as  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  Washington  and  knowing  you've  been  after 
office  every  hour  in  your  life  —  an'  you've  got  a  fat  one  now 
—  the  question  I  wanted  to  ax  you  was,  '  why  don't  you 
practice  what  you  preach  3 ' " 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

INSIDE  THE  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING-OFFICE  — THE  STORY 

OF  A  "  PUB.  DOC."— PRINTING  SPEECHES  THAT 

WERE  NEVER  SPOKEN. 

Uncle  Sam's  "Print- Shop"  —  Using  Twenty  Tons  of  Printing-ink  a 
Year  — Utilizing  the  Skins  of  50,000  Sheep  To  Bind  Books  — Making 
a  Book  While  You  Wait  — The  Celebrated  "Pub.  Doc."  — What 
Becomes  of  Them  —  Sending  Out  "Pub.  Docs."  to  All  the  World  — 
The  Convenience  of  a  "Frank"  — The  Omnipresent  "Doc."  — All 
Kinds  of  "Does."  — A  Storehouse  of  Valuable  Facts  — The  Con- 
gressional Record  —  Ready-Made  Speeches  —  What  "Leave  To  Print 
"Means  —  Printing  Speeches  that  Were  Never  Spoken  —  Hoodwink- 
ing Dear  Constituents  —  Scattering  Fine  Speeches  Broadcast — "See 
What  a  Great  Man  Am  I  "  —  Speeches  Written  "by  Somebody  Else  " 
—  Printing-Office  Secrets  —  Some  Interesting  Facts. 


*  O  one  in  the  world  is  so  profuse  a  user  of  printer's 
ink  as  Uncle  Sam ;  it  takes  twenty  tons  of  it  to 
enable  him  to  print  what  he  has  to  say  every 
year,  and  he  spreads  it  over  8,000  tons  of  paper. 
There  is  considerable  room  for  doubt,  especially  in 
the  minds  of  discriminating  people,  as  to  whether  a 
great  deal  of  what  Uncle  Sam  is  made  to  say  is  really  worth 
the  paper  it  is  printed  on ;  but  the  official  opinion  holds  that 
it  is,  and,  moreover,  that  it  is  worth  binding  into  permanent 
form.  Thus  some  50,000  sheep  have  to  surrender  their  skins 
every  year  to  cover  his  books.  Besides  this  he  demands  the 
sacrifice  of  some  13,000  goats  for  skins  for  his  Turkish  mo- 
rocco, and  the  imitation  Kussia  leather  he  uses  every  year 
would  cover  at  least  two  acres  of  ground.  -He  requires 

(476) 


MAKING  A   BOOK   IN  A   SINGLE   NIGHT.  477 

linen,  canvas,  muslin,  glue,  and  gold  leaf  in  proportion,  and 
so  enormous  and  efficient  is  his  great  establishment,  the  Gov- 
ernment Prin ting-Office,  that  he  can  set  the  type,  print, 
illustrate,  and  bind  a  good-sized  book,  almost  while  you 
wait. 

One  or  two  examples  will  serve  to  portray  the  working 
of  the  marvelous  facilities  of  the  Government  Printing- 
Office.  In  the  spring  of  1898  great  excitement  followed 
the  blowing  up  of  the  Maine  in  Havana  Harbor.  Congress 
was  impatient  to  declare  war,  but  was  prevailed  upon  to 
await  the  report  of  the  naval  Court  of  Inquiry  and  the 
message  of  the  President  accompanying  it.  On  March  28th 
these  were  ready  for  the  printer,  and  on  account  of  the  pecu- 
liar conditions  of  the  situation  it  was  desired  that  Congress 
should  have  them  the  next  day.  At  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  28th  the  originals  for  twenty -four  full-page 
illustrations  and  for  one  lithograph  in  colors  were  sent  to 
the  Government  Printing-Office  and  the  force  was  at  once 
set  to  work  to  have  these  illustrations  made.  The  manu- 
script arrived  at  6  P.  M.  and  was  immediately  parceled  out 
to  hundreds  of  compositors,  and  when  all  in  type  it  made 
298  large  pages  —  a  good-sized  book. 

Complete  printed  and  illustrated  copies  bound  in  paper 
covers  were  laid  on  the  desks  of  the  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives two  hours  before  Congress  assembled  the  next 
morning.  All  through  the  night  busy  fingers  were  setting 
up  the  type,  making  up  the  pages  and  stereotyping  them ; 
fast  presses  were  dropping  the  printed  and  folded  sheets  at 
every  tick  of  the  watch ;  other  busy  hands  were  gathering 
them,  stitching  them  and  pasting  on  the  covers,  while  others 
were  sending  complete  books  away  in  the  mails. 

But  this  feat  was  completely  eclipsed  in  the  publication 
of  the  testimony  taken  in  the  West  Point  Military  Academy 
hazing  case.  This  testimony,  with  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee making  the  investigation,  was  presented  to  the  House 


478  AN  ARMY  OF  WORKERS. 

of  [Representatives  on  Saturday,  Feb.  9th,  1901,  and  during 
the  afternoon  it  was  sent  to  the  public  printer.  Work  was 
begun  on  it  at  once,  and  on  Monday  morning,  a  little  over 
thirty-six  hours  from  the  time  it  had  been  received,  it  was 
delivered,  printed  and  bound,  at  the  Capitol.  The  work 
completed  and  delivered  made  exactly  2,002  pages,  but  in 
addition  to  this  a  couple  of  hundred  pages  were  set  up  ready 
to  submit  for  approval  before  being  paged  and  stitched. 
Meanwhile  the  usual  work  of  the  office  was  going  on  as  if 
nothing  unusual  was  occurring  ;  the  stream  of  Congressional 
Records,  Bureau  Reports^  and  public  documents  generally 
was  in  no  way  clogged. 

The  Government  Printing-Office  is  run  at  an  aggregate 
cost  of  $4,000,000  a  year,  and  three-fourths  of  this  expense 
is  paid  out  in  wages  to  its  employees.  It  is  the  size  of  this 
army  of  workers  under  one  roof  and  under  one  manage- 
ment that  makes  it  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  gov- 
ernment industries  at  "Washington. 

The  original  building  devoted  to  government  printing 
was  erected  in  1856  far  beyond  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  It 
has  been  gradually  enlarged  from  time  to  time,  and  the  old 
building  as  it  now  stands  is  not  only  well  within  the  city  but 
covers  about  an  acre,  exclusive  of  adjoining  branches,  and 
affords  floor  space  of  about  four  acres.  But  for  a  long  time 
the  ever-increasing  pressure  of  government  work  has  over- 
taxed the  accommodations  of  the  building,  and  thus,  after 
many  shifts  and  makeshifts,  the  government  has  provided 
for  the  erection  of  a  great  structure  on  ad  joining  lots.  This, 
when  completed,  will  afford  a  floor  space  of  over  nine  acres 
in  addition  to  that  already  provided  by  the  old  building.  It 
will  cost  $2,000,000  and  will  be  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
substantial  public  buildings  in  Washington. 

The  number  of  employees  averages  about  3,500,  but, 
pending  the  completion  of  the  new  building,  they  are  not 
under  one  roof.  It  has  been  found  more  convenient,  and  in 


A  MIGHTY  FLOOD   OF    "  PUB.    DOCS."  479 

some  respects  necessary,  to  have  branches  in  some  of  the 
executive  departments. 

Each  division  is  in  charge  of  a  foreman  or  superintend- 
ent, and  the  arrangement  is  such  that,  if  there  is  a  sudden 
demand  for  work  in  one  room,  help  may  be  summoned  from 
rooms  where  work  is  for  the  time  slack  or  not  pressing. 
Thus  some  night,  when  the  "  matter"  for  the  Congressional 
Record  rises  to  large  proportions,  compositors  are  drawn 
from  the  main  composing-room. 

The  "  Pub.  Doc."  always  demands  attention.  There  is 
nothing  so  plenty  in  Washington,  not  even  Congressmen  or 
civil  service  eligibles.  They  are  everywhere  and  in  every 
shape.  If  Congress  does  nothing  else,  it  is  sure  to  provide  a 
flood  of  "  Pub.  Docs."  There  are  "  Ex.  Docs.,"  "  Sen.  Docs.," 
and>u  Mis.  Docs."  but  they  are  all  "  Pub.  Docs."  The  latter 
is  the  genus,  the  former,  some  of  the  species.  They  multiply 
faster  than  ever  did. the  Children  of  Israel  in  Egypt.  Piles 
on  piles  of  huge  pamphlets  cumber  and  crowd  the  lodging 
of  the  average  Congressman.  The  new  member  always 
takes  kindly  to  them  at  first ;  they  give  him,  he  is  inclined 
to  think,  an  air  of  importance.  He  even  reads  them  for  a 
time. 

After  a  while  they  begin  to  cram  every  available  nook 
"  up  stairs,  down  stairs,  and  in  my  ladies'  chamber."  They 
prove  greedy  receptacles  of  dust  which  defies  extermination. 
His  wife  may  appeal  to  him  to  give  them  away  or  send  them 
to  constituents,  but  he  need  not  take  the  trouble  to  do  the 
latter,  for  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  send  the  names  of  his 
dear  constituents  to  the  superintendent  of  the  "  Pub.  Docs." 
and  the  pamphlets  are  franked  to  them  without  any  more 
ado.  The  government  pays  for  doing  this  tedious  work. 
But,  even  so,  the  "  Pub.  Doc."  rooms  are  always  over- 
flowing. They  line  the  walls  and  racks  from  floor  to  floor, 
and  are  falling  down  and  running  over  everything  every- 
where. Most  of  them  have  no  covers,  but  thousands  and 


480  A  VAST  COLLECTION   OF  FACTS. 

thousands  are  clad  "  in  purple  and  fine  linen  "  —  law  sheep 
and  morocco. 

Undoubtedly  the  average  "  Pub.  Doc."  is  a  weariness  to 
the  flesh  and  the  spirit.  They  cover  almost  every  conceiv- 
able subject  that  is  of  no  possible  interest  to  the  average 
mortal.  A  commission  is  appointed  to  select  wool  for  use 
in  Custom  houses;  Congress  asks  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  if  he  has  given  any  one  permission  to  hold  Sunday 
concerts  in  the  Pension  building  ;  the  President  is  asked  for 
correspondence  regarding  the  capture  of  a  captain  of  a  coast 
schooner  by  natives  of  Honduras ;  special  agents  have  been 
sent  to  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  Seal  Islands ;  a 
member  from  Texas  desires  information  as  to  a  fish  hatchery 
in  Texas ;  and  so  on  and  on  every  day,  and  these  reports 
and  answers  with  collateral  matter  eventually  turn  up  as  so 
many  more  "  Pub.  Docs." 

Yet  they  have  to  be.  Government  is  not  a  glittering 
generality.  Precise  information  of  its  minutest  ramifica- 
tions is  required  for  the  intelligent  action  of  committees, 
and  these  documents  provide  a  vast  storehouse  of  historical 
and  political  and  scientific  facts.  If  a  question  comes  up,  it  is 
the  business  of  some  Congressman  to  look  carefully  into  it. 
To  do  this  he  has  but  to  consult  the  index  of  "  Pub.  Docs." 
and  secure  such  as  he  needs.  Moreover,  there  are  "  Pub. 
Docs."  of  the  greatest  value.  The  reports  of  some  of  the 
bureaus  are  highly  prized  by  the  best  libraries  and  the 
leading  scholars  of  the  world.  The  government  annually 
secures  a  vast  amount  of  information  which  no  individual 
could  otherwise  obtain. 

The  "  Pub.  Doc."  first  appears  at  the  Government  Print- 
ing-Office as  a  huge  pile  of  manuscript,  often  accompanied 
with  drawings,  large  maps,  or  photographs.  Formerly  such 
manuscript  was  written  in  many  varieties  of  handwriting, 
much  of  it  illegible  except  to  expert  compositors.  But  in 
these  days  of  the  typewriter  the  printer  is  relieved  of  the 


ANOTHER  PHASE  OP  WOMAN'S  WORK.  481 

necessity  of  solving  difficult  enigmas  as  he  goes  along.  The 
manuscript  is  in  the  composing-room  divided  into  small 
"  takes,"  which  are  distributed  in  a  long  rack  containing 
hundreds  of  pigeon-holes,  each  numbered  for  a  certain  com- 
positor. So  many  hands  are  employed  and  so  small  are  the 
" takes"  that  the  largest  "  Pub.  Doc."  is  usually  in  type  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  each  printer  empties  his  "  stick ''  in  the 
proper  place  upon  the  long  brass  "  galleys."  These,  as  they 
are  ready,  are  placed  under  the  proof-presses,  and  proofs 
with  the  copy  sent  to  the  proofreaders. 

There  are  altogether  130  presses  in  the  Government 
Printing- Office,  the  average  output  of  which  is  1,000,000 
impressions  per  day  of  eight  hours.  Some  of  the  presses 
are  marvels  of  mechanical  genius.  One  is  capable  of  print- 
ing cards  on  both  sides  from  a  web  of  Bristol  board  at  the 
rate  of  65,000  per  hour.  Each  envelope  press  averages 
about  10,000  printed  envelopes  an  hour.  A  "  Pub.  Doc."  is 
usually  "  reeled  off  "  at  the  rate  of  about  10,000  per  hour,  in 
forms  of  thirty-two  pages  each. 

The  " folding-room"  always  presents  a  busy  scene.  Here 
sit  nearly  600  women,  young  and  old,  folding  sheets  of  paper 
of  various  sizes  ffom  morning  till  night.  Large  maps 
several  feet  square  must  be  folded  with  great  nicety,  so  that 
they  can  be  gathered  into  a  book  and  sewed  with  it.  The 
operations  of  binding  are  similar  to  those  everywhere  except 
as  to  the  scale,  the  extensiveness  of  which  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  this  department  consumes  in  its  work 
every  year  37,000  pounds  of  glue,  4,000  packs  of  gold  leaf, 
7,000  pounds  of  thread,  900,000 .  pounds  of  binding-board, 
and  the  various  leathers  already  mentioned. 

Such  is  the  history  of  "  Pub.  Docs."  of  every  description. 
Through  this  greatest  workshop  of  the  government  is  ever 
running  a  stream  of  pamphlets  and  books.  As  fast  as  they 
are  completed  they  are  taken  away  to  the  various  depart- 
ments from  which  they  originated  as  manuscript.  Thence 


482          MEMBERS   WHO    "  WITHOLD   THEIR   REMARKS." 

they  go  out  into  the  world,  part  of  them  to  find  a  comfortable 
abode  on  library  shelves,  but  most  of  them  to  meet  with  the 
neglect  which  is  often  enough  deserved. 

The  evolution  of  the  Congressional  Record,  while  similar 
to  the  above  process  in  general  principles,  presents  some 
interesting  variations.  The  Record  is  a  daily  publication 
while  Congress  is  in  session  ;  but  whereas  the  managers  of 
great  newspapers  can  plan  the  size  of  their  issue  some  time 
in  advance,  the  Government  Printing-Office  never  knows  till 
a  couple  of  hours  before  the  Record  goes  to  press  how  large 
It  will  be.  Its  size  depends  largely  upon  how  much  talking 
is  done  in  the  Senate  and  House,  but  not  altogether  upon 
this,  for  members  have  the  privilege  of  "  withholding  their 
remarks  "  occasionally,  especially  when  they  wish  to  revise 
them  or  polish  them  in  places.  Those  speeches  which  are 
withheld  may  drop  into  the  printing-office  at  any  time. 
Then,  too,  members  have  a  privilege  which  is  known  as 
"  leave  to  print,"  which  means  that  they  can  insert  in  the 
Record  speeches  which  they  never  made,  never  could  make, 
and  which  often  are  written  for  them  by  somebody  else. 

The  main  body  of  the  Record  is  supplied  by  the  Senate 
and  House  reporters.  Each  house  has  a*  corps  of  proficient 
stenographers,  who  operate  under  a  perfect  system  whereby 
they  "  take  turns  "  during  debate.  In  exciting  moments  in 
the  House,  when  members  are  jumping  up  and  interjecting 
remarks  from  various  places  in  the  big  chamber,  these  sten- 
ographers are  stationed  at  convenient  points  and  take  what- 
ever remarks  are  for  the  time  made  within  their  jurisdiction. 
Whenever  necessary  two  reporters  take  the  same  debate  so 
that  it  may  be  verified  when  written  out.  The  force  is  suffi- 
cient to  permit  a  portion  to  typewrite  their  notes,  while 
others  are  continuing  with  the  debate.  There  is  one  official 
who  has  charge  of  all  matter  for  the  Record,  and  the  vari- 
ous notes  are  put  in  shape  in  his  office,  making  one  verbatim 
report  of  the  whole  proceedings. 


HOW   THE   CONGRESSIONAL  RECORD  IS  PRINTED.        483 

The  rule  of  the  Government  Printing-Office  is  that  copy 
for  the  Congressional  Record  must  be  in  before  midnight, 
and  always  a  greater  portion  of  it  can  be,  especially  the 
copy  of  prepared  speeches,  for  it  should  be  said  that  when 
a  Senator  or  Representative  has  a  prepared  speech,  it  is 
handed  to  the  stenographers',  and  they  make  only  such 
changes  as  occur  within  the  delivery,  like  interruptions 
which  may  lead  the  speaker  away  from  his  manuscript. 
Usually,  therefore,  there  are  certain  portions  of  the  proceed- 
ings which  can  be  placed  in  the  printing-office  early  at  night, 
and  these  are  in  type  before  the  final  copy  arrives. 

Between  midnight  and  4  o'clock  it  must  not  only  be  all 
put  in  type  but  read  and  re-read  three  or  four  times  for 
errors,  blocked  into  pages,  stereotyped,  and  made  ready 
for  the  presses.  Often  a  member  requests  a  proof  in  the 
interval,  and  this  must  be  sent  him,  marked  with  the  time 
within  which  it  must  be  returned.  As  the  type  is  set  it  is 
laid  out  in  galleys  running  in  regular  order,  and  as  fast  as 
read,  the  " make-up"  men  prepare  the  pages,  each  of  which  is 
stereotyped.  Sixteen  of  these  pages  are  locked  on  each  of 
two  cylinders,  so  that  when  the  press  is  started  it  prints, 
from  a  continuous  roll  of  paper,  forms  of  thirty-two  pages 
each,  cuts,  folds,  and  delivers  them  counted  in  a  case  at  one 
side  at  the  rate  of  20,000  an  hour.  The  Record  varies  from 
twenty  to  150  pages  at  an  issue. 

As  soon  as  gathered  and  stitched,  the  issue  goes  to 
the  mailing-  and  delivery-room,  where  over  a  hundred 
girls  wrap  it  in  covers  which  have  been  mechanically  ad- 
dressed to  the  various  parties  all  over  the  country  to 
whom  members  of  Congress  have  asked  to  have  it  sent. 
Each  member  is  allowed  a  certain  number,  and,  as  it  costs 
him  nothing  and  is  apt  to  please  the  dear  constituent,  he 
usually  fills  out  his  quota. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  NATIONAL  MUSEUM  — A  WONDERFUL  COLLECTION  OF 

CURIOSITIES  AND  RELICS  — THE  ARMY  MEDICAL 

MUSEUM  — INTERESTING  SPECIMENS  OF 

THE  RESULTS  OF  "  WAR,  DISEASE, 

AND  HUMAN  SKILL." 

The  Most  Wonderful  Collection  of  Curiosities  and  Relics  in  the  World  — 
Over  4,000,000  Interesting  Specimens  —  Curious  Story  of  How  the 
Museum  Was  Started  —  Priceless  Relics  of  Washington  —  Franklin's 
Printing-Press  —  Lincoln's  Cravat  and  Threadbare  Office  Coat  —  Gen- 
eral Grant's  Presents  —  Relics  From  the  Maine  —  A  Wonderful 
Collection  of  Skeletons  —  Proving  Man's  Descent  From  Monkeys  — 
The  Army  Medical  Museum  —  A  Grewsome  Place  —  All  that  Remains 
Above  Ground  of  the  Assassin  of  Lincoln  —  A  Collection  of  Skulls  — 
Some  "Interesting  Cases"  —  The  Spleen  of  Guiteau,  the  Assassin 
of  Garfield  —  How  Specimens  Are  Collected  and  Exchanged  —  Getting 
Back  "  Something  Equally  as  Good  "  —  What  the  X-Ray  Photographs 
Show. 


'ATE  in  the  '30's  Commodore  Elliott,  then  of  the 
Mediterranean  squadron  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  returned  to  this  country  bringing  with 
him  an  ancient  sarcophagus  that  had  contained 
the  mortal  remains  of  some  Roman  hero  at  Carthage. 
It  was  evidently  a  pretentious  sarcophagus  in  its  day, 
and  had  been  tolerably  well  preserved  from  the  ravages  of 
time  and  of  the  vandals.  Its  massive  stone  was  handsomely 
carved.  The  Commodore  was  a  great  admirer  of  Jackson, 
who  had  just  delivered  his  farewell  to  the  government  and 
had  retired  to  "  The  Hermitage " ;  and  to  him  Elliott  pre- 
sented this  relic  of  Roman  greatness  with  the  expectation 

(484) 


CURIOUS  BEGINNING  OF  THE  COLLECTION.  485 

that  the  fiery  general  would  allow  his  remains  to  be  depos- 
ited in  it. 

But  Jackson  preferred  something  more  modern,  conven- 
ient, and  American.  So  the  great  stone  was  deposited  in 
the  basement  of  the  Patent-Office  and  curiously  enough  be- 
came the  beginning  of  the  National  Museum,  now  the 
largest  collection  of  curiosities  and  relics  in  the  world,  a 
collection  numbering  over  4,000,000  specimens  of  various 
kinds  gathered  from  every  part  of  the  world  and  represent, 
ing  every  age.  The  old  sarcophagus  now  stands  in  the 
beautiful  grounds  in  front  of  the  building  containing  this 
remarkable  collection,  and  shows  few  evidences  of  the 
twenty  or  more  centuries  that  have  rolled  over  it.  It  is 
sometimes  mistaken  for  a  monument  to  some  dead  states- 
man or  benefactor  of  the  government,  but  no  mortal 
remains  lie  within  or  under  it. 

Begun  in  this  small  way,  the  museum  remained  for 
many  years  a  small  and  heterogeneous  collection  stored 
within  a  few  dusty  cases  in  the  basement  of  the  Patent- 
Office;  but  in  time  it  received  substantial  additions  from 
the  great  exploring  expeditions  of  Wilkes  in  the  Pacific  and 
of  Perry  in  Japan.  In  1846,  Congress  took  steps  for  a 
more  creditable  arrangement  by  transferring  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  then  being  organized,  the  custody  of  the 
collection,  though  the  actual  transfer  was  not  made  till 
1858.  Here,  under  more  direct  encouragement,  the  collec 
tion  grew  rapidly  through  gifts  from  foreign  nations,  and 
through  the  services  of  consuls  and  other  government 
agents  in  foreign  lands.  Under  the  law  it  was  made  "  the 
authorized  place  of  deposit  for  all  objects  of  art,  archgeol- 
ogy,  ethnology,  natural  history,  mineralogy,  geology,  etc." 
The  operations  of  the  government  surveys,  and  the  gifts 
resulting  from  various  World's  Fairs,  so  swelled  the  col- 
lection that  a  special  building  had  to  be  provided  in  1881 

Every  day  brings  in  new  specimens,  so  that  now  the 


486        RELICS  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

government  is  in  possession  of  many  more  curiosities  than 
are  exhibited,  which  for  want  of  room  are  packed  away  safe 
from  the  prying  eyes  and  despoiling  hands  of  the  curious. 
It  is  the  dream  of  those  interested  in  this  enterprise  to  have 
the  government  provide  an  immense  building  somewhere 
within  the  city  and  thus  establish  a  standing  exhibition  of 
marvelous  value  and  variety.  The  anthropological  collec- 
tions now  in  possession  of  the  government,  illustrating  the 
development  and  progress  of  man  and  his  works,  if  properly 
placed  on  exhibition,  would  occupy  the  entire  space  of  the 
present  museum  building  which  twenty  years  ago  was 
deemed  adequate  for  all  purposes. 

The  museum  is  in  charge  of  the  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  but,  unlike  the  latter,  it  is  sup- 
ported by  government  appropriations.  The  collections  in 
both  are  practically  one,  though  the  exhibition-rooms  in  the 
Smithsonian  are  almost  entirely  given  up  to  certain  features 
of  natural  history.  The  main  floor  of  the  museum  building 
is  divided  into  seventeen  halls  which  connect  with  each 
other  by  wide  archways,  and  altogether  they  furnish  nearly 
one  hundred  thousand  square  feet  of  space. 

By  the  north  or  main  doorway  we  enter  a  long  hall 
devoted  to  a  large  collection  of.personal  relics  illustrative  of 
different  periods  of  American  history.  Priceless  relics  of 
"Washington,  many  of  which  have  been  purchased  from  his 
heirs,  fill  many  large  cases.  Displayed  in  one  are  his  dress 
suit  and  dress  uniform,  the  latter  a  great  blue  coat  with 
trimmings  of  buff,  and  suspended  with  it  are  the  curiously- 
contrived  knee  breeches.  We  can  imagine  that  when  the 
suit  was  new  and  before  the  moths  began  to  ravage  it,  the 
Father  of  His  Country  must  have  presented  a  striking 
figure  in  it ;  but  here  it  hangs  limp  and  forlorn,  though  its 
great  brass  buttons  are  as  bright  as  ever.  We  can  imagine 
them  glittering  as  Washington  stood,  the  admired  center  of 
the  gorgeously-clad  groups  at  state  receptions,  or  as  his  dig- 


INTERESTING  MEMORIALS  OP  GREAT  MEN.  487 

nified  figure  moved  gracefully  through  the  stately  measures 
of  the  minuet. 

Telling  a  sterner  story  are  the  various  effects  of  "Wash- 
ington's camp  life,  including  his  camp  chest,  with  its  quaint 
knives  and  forks,  bottles  and  pewter  plates,  and  the  broiler 
bearing  the  marks  of  many  a  camp  fire.  In  the  case  de- 
voted to  Jefferson  relics  we  see  the  favorite  chair  of  the 
sage  of  Monticello,  with  its  well-worn  upholstered  head-rest. 
From  a  much  more  remote  past  comes  the  hand  printing- 
press  owned  by  Benjamin  Franklin  when  a  journeyman 
printer,  a  mechanism  which  seems  ridiculously  crude,  but 
it  shows  the  signs  of  many  an  impression,  and  its  rough, 
timbered  sides  are  thickly  plastered  with  age-dried  ink. 

In  the  case  devoted  to  Lincoln  are  many  interesting  fea- 
tures, but  perhaps  none  appeal  to  us  more  than  the  cravat 
which  so  often  encircled  his  long  neck,  and  the  office  coat 
which  held  his  tall,  slender  figure;  for  years  to  come  its 
threadbare  buttons  will  tell  their  story  of  the  patient  toil 
and  steady  application  of  the  beloved  President  to  the 
affairs  of  his  country  during  the  most  stupendous  crisis  in 
its  history. 

The  most  brilliant  collection  in  this  hall  is  formed  of  the 
swords,  testimonials,  and  presents  of  various  kinds  given  to 
General  Grant  during  the  Civil  War  and  in  his  trip  around 
the  world. 

Other  cases  are  devoted  to  memorials  of  men  whose 
achievements  marked  epochs  in  the  history  or  development 
of  the  country,  such  as  Morse,  who  solved  the.  problem  of 
the  telegraph,  and  Field,  the  father  of  the  Atlantic  Cable. 
Here,  too,  are  many  late  additions,  like  relics  from  the 
Maine,  and  many  curious  mementoes  of  the  war  in  Cuba 
and  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines. 

In  the  Rotunda,  towering  above  the  basin  of  a  fountain, 
stands  the  original  plaster  model  of  Crawford's  Goddess  of 
Liberty  surmounting  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  while  about 


488          A  VAST  COLLECTION  OF  CURIOUS  SPECIMENS. 

the  walls  are  many  large  and  costly  objects  of  interest. 
From  this  center  you  may  pass  through  great  halls  in  any 
direction  and  walk  for  hours  amid  countless  "  specimens  "  — 
pottery  and  porcelain  from  every  country  in  the  world; 
models  of  boats  and  vessels  from  Fitch's  first  steamboat  to 
the  great  modern  steamer;  Indian  canoes  and  Oriental 
junks;  and  hundreds  of  articles  showing  the  various  indus- 
trial arts  of  the  world  and  the  life  of  the  people  of  every 
clime  and  in  every  state  of  barbarism  and  civilization. 

Here  are  skeletons  of  existing  and  extinct  animals ;  min- 
erals, and  ores,  and  fossils  of  every  description ;  costumes 
and  textile  fabrics  of  every  sort ;  figures,  life-size,  of  Hindoos, 
Persians,  Chinese,  Japanese,  Indians,  and  savages,  all 
dressed  in  their  characteristic  garb  and  illustrating  by  their 
groups  various  peculiarities  of  their  industrial  or  social  life. 
Here,  too,  are  wonderful  baskets  made  of  grass  and  roots; 
weapons  from  the  most  primitive  to  the  most  deadly,  and 
musical  instruments  from  the  tam-tam  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands  to  the  costliest  piano. 

All  these  collections  are  arranged  with  a  view  to  making 
them  instructive.  For  example,  in  the  hall  devoted  to  skele- 
tons, and  which  is  fairly  overrun  with  bones,  we  may  see 
mounted  skeletons  of  various  species  of  monkeys  up  to  the 
chimpanzee,  the  ourang-outang,  and  gorilla,  and  beside  the 
latter,  skeletons  of  a  native  Australian,  an  American  Indian, 
and  the  "  homo  sapiens."  This  is  intended  to  show  how  our 
bones  differ  in  characteristic  ways  from  those  of  the  monkeys, 
and  even  from  man  in  lower  stages  of  civilization.  Our 
superiority  is,  after  all,  largely  a  matter  of  "  brain  cavity," 
if  you  may  believe  these  experts.  You  may  pass  from  this 
engrossing  study  to  a  hall  containing  half  a  million  speci- 
mens of  mollusks  with  very  little  evidence  of  brain  cavity, 
but  wonderful  in  the  various  forms  they  take,  surpassing  in 
texture  the  finest  works  of  art.  In  another  hall  are  half  a 
million  fossil  invertebrates,  and  plants  which  in  remote  ages 


THE  ARMY   MEDICAL  MUSEUM.  489 

were  petrified  in  the  rocks  —  pages  from  the  geologic  history 
of  a  million  or  more  years  ago. 

In  the  spaces  devoted  to  means  of  transportation  you 
may  see  the  oldest  locomotive  in  America  —  a  loose-jointed 
piece  of  mechanism,  which  looks  as  though  it  would  fly  to 
pieces  if  an  attempt  were  made  to  run  it.  Close  by  is  an 
old  Mexican  ox-cart  without  a  piece  of  iron  or  a  nail  in  it. 
The  wheels  are  hewn  from  tree-trunks,  and  weigh  over  200 
pounds  each.  It  is  in  strange  contrast  to  the  beautifully- 
ornamented  Japanese  palanquin  near  by. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  collection  in  the  building 
is  that  illustrative  of  the  American  Indian.  Life-sized 
groups  represent  various  features  of  the  domestic  economy 
of  the  red  man,  while  his  utensils,  implements  of  peace  and 
war,  and  objects  of  worship  abound  on  every  side. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  very  large  number  of  varieties 
of  this  wonderful  display.  They  indicate  how  wide  is  the 
range  and  how  completely  each  branch  is  illustrated.  What- 
ever bQ  the  subject  one  is  interested  in,  he  will  here  find 
arranged  before  him  the  very  objects  of  his  interest ;  and 
when  one  stops  to  think  that  the  government  has  packed 
away  as  many  more,  and  that  it  is  constantly  receiving 
numerous  additions,  we  can  but  wonder  what  the  museum 
will  become  years  hence. 

Close  by  the  National  Museum  stands  the  large  and 
handsome  brick  building  now  occupied  by  the  Army  Medi- 
cal Museum,  a  grewsome  place  which,  however  much  it  may 
excite  our  interest  and  wonder,  leaves  a  decidedly-unpleas- 
ant impression  on  the  nerves  of  sensitive  people.  It  may  be 
a  heaven  of  delight  for  physicians  and  surgeons,  but  the  un- 
scientific shrink  from  the  close  observation  of  such  an  exten- 
sive display  in  wax  and  preserved  flesh  of  the  effects  of  the 
ravages  of  various  diseases  and  of  gun-shot  wounds. 

Probably  one  of  the  least-disquieting  features  of  the 
place  is  a  regiment  of  human  skeletons,  a  large  number  of 


490  EXHIBITS  OF  FATALITIES   OF  WAR. 

them  drawn  up  in  single  file  and  extending  the  whole  length 
of  a  gallery  in  the  long  hall.  Grinning  with  frightful  una- 
nimity, they  appear,  because  of  the  way  in  which  they  are 
thickly  suspended  and  arranged,  to  be  hurrying  southward 
in  a  dancing  lock-step.  Some  of  these  are  skeletons  of  once 
fierce  Indians,  or  South  Sea  Islanders ;  others  are  of  well- 
behaved  Americans,  and  still  others  are  of  criminals  of  the 
worst  kind ;  but  they  all  look  alike  now,  as  they  seem  to 
dance  along  without  respect  to  former  condition  or  color. 

The  Army  Medical  Museum  is  one  of  the  results  of  the 
Civil  "War.  In  obedience  to  an  order  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment, issued  in  1862,  thousands  of  pathological  specimens, 
showing  the  results  of  gun-shots  and  amputations,  quickly 
accumulated  at  Washington,  and  soon  after  the  assassination 
of  Lincoln,  Ford's  Theater  was  purchased  by  the  government, 
refitted,  and  dedicated  to  this  growing  collection,  together 
with  the  Record  and  Pension  Division  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment. The  collection  increased  so  rapidly  that  soon  a 
demand  for  a  safer  and  more  commodious  building  arose, 
and  in  1887  the  present  building  was  erected,  ample  to  con- 
tain not  simply  the  museum,  but  the  immense  medical  library, 
now  the  most  complete  collection  of  medical  and  surgical 
literature  in  the  world.  This  library  has  been  gathered 
since  the  Civil  War,  but  now  numbers  over  200,000  volumes, 
and  includes  some  of  the  rarest  books  in  the  world,  dating 
back  to  the  very  beginning  of  printing.  Physicians  and  scien- 
tific societies  have  greatly  interested  themselves  in  the  growth 
of  this  institution,  and  have  generously  contributed  both  lit- 
erature and  specimens. 

Of  late  years,  or  since  the  Civil  War,  the  growth  has 
been  less  in  the  direction  of  exhibits  of  fatalities  of  war  than 
of  the  various  diseases  that  human  flesh  is  heir  to,  and  a 
particularly-exhaustive  exhibit  of  microscopic  cell  develop- 
ment, both  in  health  and  disease.  If  you  are  scientific,  these 
will  interest  you  more  than  the  enlarged  spleen  of  Guiteau, 


GHASTLY   SPECIMENS  OF  THE  MEDICAL  COLLECTION.  491 

the  assassin  of  President  Garfield,  or  the  colorless  fragments 
of  the  spinal  column  of  John  Wilkes  Booth.  If  you  are 
scientific,  also,  you  will  linger  with  breathless  interest  over 
the  long  array  of  tumors,  evidences  of  tuberculosis,  of  lep- 
rosy, and  so  on ;  but  if  not  scientific,  you  will  have  a  curious 
feeling  that  your  entire  scalp  is  about  to  nse  in  revolt,  and 
you  will  go  away  with  a  vague  fear  that  you  may  have 
caught  the  diseases  of  the  whole  collection,  and  ought  to 
hurry  to  the  nearest  doctor. 

Guiteau's  spleen  looks  very  much  like  any  of  the  other 
spleens  arranged  in  glass  jars ;  but  you  will  be  told  that  it 
is  a  little  larger  than  it  ought  to  be,  not  because  of  Guiteau's 
mental  peculiarities,  but  because  he  was  for  a  long  time  kept 
in  a  jail  which  held  more  malaria  than  prisoners.  This  is 
the  only  Guiteau  specimen  retained.  The  rest  of  his  mortal 
remains  that  were  considered  worth  preserving  have  been 
distributed ;  for  a  sort  of  altruistic  spirit  of  exchange  exists 
between  the  managers  of  the  museum  and  medical  people 
and  societies  all  over  the  world,  by  which  they  give  and  re- 
ceive presents  in  skeletons,  wax  tumors,  and  bottled  human 
organs.  For  example,  the  person  who  presented  the  museum 
with  a  bottled  baby,  born  with  but  one  eye  and  that  in  the 
middle  of  its  forehead,  and  hence  officially  labeled  "  Cyclops," 
might  reasonably  expect  in  return  an  "interesting  specimen" 
—  something  "  equally  a$  good." 

To  the  unscientific  mind  doubtless  the  most  interesting 
and  the  least  disagreeable  specimens  are  those  which  have 
been  in  the  museum  for  a  long  time  and  show  the  wonderful 
effects  of  rifle  bullets  and  shrapnel  fragments  after  entering 
the  human  body.  Here  are  skulls  pierced  by  arrow  heads 
without  being  fractured,  and  others  that  have  been  broken 
by  tiny  bullets,  that,  after  entering,  plowed  their  way  along 
in  eccentric  furrows.  This  is  now  more  fully  illustrated  by 
a  series  of  X-ray  photographs. 

Those  who  have  seen  General  Sickles  slowly  making  his 


AN  INTERESTING  SPECIMEN  WITH  A  HISTORY. 

way  on  crutches  can  not  fail  to  be  interested  in  his  leg,  or 
rather,  a  strong  white  bone  which  was  once  a  part  of  his 
anatomy,  and  which  bears  the  following  official  description : 

"The  right  tibia  and  fibula  comminuted  in  three  shafts  by  a  round 
shell.  Major-General  D.  E.  S.,  United  States  Volunteers,  Gettysburg, 
July  2,  1863,  amputated  in  the  lower  third  of  the  thigh  by  Surgeon  T. 
Sim,  United  States  Volunteers,  on  the  field.  Stump  healed  rapidly,  and 
subject  was  able  to  ride  in  carriage  July  16  ;  completely  healed,  so  that 
he  mounted  his  horse,  in  September,  1863.  Contributed  by  subject." 

If  the  General  in  all  these  years  ever -found  his  memories 
of  Gettysburg  growing  less  vivid,  he  could  at  any  time  come 
to  the  Museum,  and  by  observing  the  remains  of  the  limb 
he  parted  with  so  many  years  ago,  have  them  revived. 

The  specimens  with  an  interesting  history  from  a  popu- 
lar point  of  view  are  much  less  conspicuous  now  than  a  few 
years  ago,  as  the  medical  history  is  alone  supposed  to  be  of 
value.  Most  of  the  descriptive  labels  have  been  removed. 
Thus  some  of  the  old  specimens  have  little  to  show  their 
connection  with  the  events  of  the  Civil  "War.  Apparently 
insignificant  among  over  25,000  other  specimens  of  various 
kinds  may  be  seen  three  human  vertebrae  mounted  on  a 
stand,  and  beside  it  a  glass  vial  with  a  thin  line  of  white 
matter  floating  in  alcohol. 

There  is  nothing  to  show  whose  vertebras  these  were, 
and  even  when  official  catalogues,  were  printed  they  con- 
tained no  information  upon  such  unscientific  points.  They 
simply  recorded  in  dry  technical  language  that  one  of  these 
three  verterbae  was  entered  by  a  Carbine  ball  and  fractured 
longitudinally  and  separated  from  the  spinal  process.  The 
missile  passed  directly  through  the  canal,  with  a  slight  in- 
clination downward  and  to  the  rear,  emerging  through  the 
left  bases  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  laminae,  which  were  com- 
minuted, and  from  which  fragments  were  embedded  in  the 
muscles  of  the  neck.  The  bullet  in  its  course  avoided  the 
large  cervical  vessels.  The  description  closes  with  the  unin- 


AGONIZING  DEATH  OF  LINCOLN'S  ASSASSIN.  493 

teresting  statement :  "  From  a  case  where  death  occurred  in 
a  few  hours  after  injury,  April  26,  1865." 

Of  the  small  vial  wo  are  told  that  it  shows  a  portion  of 
the  spinal  cord  from  the  cervical  region,  transversely  perfo- 
rated from  right  to  left  by  a  carbine  bullet,  which  fractured 
the  laminae  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  vertebra?.  This  also 
closes  with  the  remark  that  it  is  "  from  a  case  where  death 
occurred  a  few  hours  after  injury,  April  26,  1865." 

This  is  all  very  dry  and  technical,  but  to  those  who  know 
all  the  facts  there  arises  before  the  mind  an  exciting  scene 
that  occurred  many  years  ago  about  a  blazing  barn  across 
the  Potomac  and  not  many  miles  from  Washington.  The 
flames  lit  up  the  recesses  of  the  great  barn  till  every  cobweb 
was  luminous,  and  back  of  a  barricade  of  hay,  bathed  in  the 
weird  illumination,  stood  a  man  with  set  teeth  and  gleaming 
eyes.  A  moment  later  he  grasped  his  carbine  and  pushed 
for  the  door  to  face  his  enemies;  but  just  then  a  sergeant, 
without  orders,  fired  through  a  crevice  and  shot  him  in  the 
neck.  He  was  taken  out,  laid  on  the  grass,  and  died  four 
hours  later.  This  is  the  case  "  where  death  occurred  a  few 
hours  after  injury," — the  case  of  John  Wilkes  Booth,  the 
murderer  of  Lincoln. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  medical  experts  a  "case"  consists 
only  of  pathological  peculiarities.  These  three  vertebrae 
might  have  belonged  to  any  one  else  and  be  just  as  "  inter- 
esting," from  the  fact  that  the  bullet  took  a  certain  course 
and  the  wound  resulted  in  death  in  a  few  hours.  It  ha^ 
been  said  that  the  fatal  wounds  of  the  assassin  Booth  and  his 
victim  were  strikingly  alike,  "but  the  trifling  difference 
made  an  immeasurable  difference  in  the  sufferings  of  the 
two.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  unconscious  of  all  pain,  while  his 
assassin  suffered  as  exquisite  agony  as  if  he  had  been  broken 
on  a  wheel." 

•    It  will  not  be  inappropriate  at  this  place  to  speak  of  the 
Lincoln  Museum  —  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  relics  dis- 


494  RELICS   OF  THE  MARTYR  PRESIDENT. 

played  in  the  old  house  opposite  Ford's  Theater  to  which 
the  wounded  Lincoln  was  carried  and  in  which  Ire  died.  It 
is  a  plain  four-story  brick  house  with  a  high  stoop  marked 
by  a  marble  tablet.  O.  H.  Oldroyd  began  to  make  this  col- 
lection in  1860,  and  after  the  assassination  purchased  the 
house  and  fitted  it  for  a  permanent  collection  of  them.  It 
was  entirely  a  private  enterprise  and  remains  so,  a  small  ad- 
mission fee  being  charged. 

Among  the  relics  are  a  stand  made  from  logs  of  the 
house  in  which  Lincoln  lived  from  1832  to  1836;  the  family 
Bible  in  which  Lincoln  wrote  his  name  in  boyhood;  the 
chair  he  occupied  at  the  theater  on  the  night  he  was  shot ; 
a  bill  of  the  play,  and  many  funeral  sermons,  and  portraits. 
Still  the  most  interesting  thing  about  it  all  is  the  little  room 
in  which  the  great  President  died,  a  room  which  John 
Wilkes  Booth  had  himself  occupied  not  long  before ;  for  at 
that  time  the  house  was  a  boarding-place  for  people  of  the 
theatrical  profession.  The  house  will  always  stand  as  it  is 
because  of  its  associations,  and  some  day  the  government 
will  doubtless  take  it  into  its  own  hands  and  add  to  its 
value  as  a  museum. 

The  proscenium  pillar  next  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  sat 
when  assassinated  has  been  preserved  in  its  place  in  the 
Ford  Theater  building,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  building 
has  twice  been  remodeled.  It  survived  the  disaster  of  1893, 
when  the  building  collapsed,  and  killed  and  injured  many 
clerks  employed  in  the  Kecord  Division  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment. ' 


CHAPTEK  XXXIII. 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  —  STRANGE  STORY  OF  ITS 

FOUNDER -ITS  WONDERFUL  TREASURES  —  THE 

NATIONAL  ZOO  AND    THE  FISH 

COMMISSION. 

The  Strange  Story  of  James  Smithson  —  A  Most  Singular  Bequest  —  Mak- 
ing Good  Use  of  His  Money —  His  Will  —  "  The  Best  Blood  of  Eng- 
land Flows  in  My  Veins  " —  Plans  of  the  Institution  —  Inside  the 
Building  —  Its  Intent  and  Object  —  Diffusion  of  Knowledge  Among 
Men  —  Facilitating  the  Study  of  Natural  History  —  Stimulating 
Talents  for  Original  Investigations  —  A  Wonderful  Exhibit  of  Stuffed 
Birds  —  Insects  of  Every  Size  and  Color  —  A  Marvelous  Collection  of 
Birds'  Eggs  —  The  Delight  of  "  Mr.  Scientist "  —What  We  "  Think  " 
We  See  — Weighing  a  Ray  of  Light  —  Doing  Many  Marvelous 
Things  — The  National  Zoo  — Among  the  Wild  Animals  — A  Visit 
to  the  Fish  Commission  —  Some  Curious  Specimens  of  the  Finny 
Tribe  —  One  of  the  Most  Entertaining  Exhibits  in  Washington. 


HE  Smithsonian  Institution  had  a  unique  begin- 
ning, showing  that  a  government  may  not  be 
without  sincere  friends  among  those  who  at  the 
time  are  regarded  as  natural  enemies.  James 
Smithson  was  an  Englishman,  a  natural  son  of  the 
third  Duke  of  Northumberland  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Macie,  a  niece  of  Charles,  Duke  of  Somerset.  He  was 
educated  at  Oxford  and  some  time  later  took  the  name  of 
Smithson.  Of  a  scientific  turn  of  mind,  he  wrote  several 
treatises,  which,  however,  attracted  no  great  attention.  ~Not 
having  any  fixed  home,  he  -appears  to  have  lived  at  various 
places  in  lodgings,  dying  at  last  in  Genoa  in  1829. 

In  1835  President  Jackson  announced  that  this  English- 

(495) 


496  A  STRANGE  STORY. 

man,  who  so  far  as  is  known  never  visited  America  nor  had 
friends  here,  had  left  all  his  property  "  to  found  at  Washing- 
ton, under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an 
establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men."  Why  he  did  not  prefer  to  establish  such  an 
institution  in  his  own  country  does  not  clearly  appear.  He 
had  doubtless  watched  with  interest  the  growth  of  the  young 
republic,  and,  having  no  other  use  for  his  fortune,  which, 
owing  to  his  simple  and  retired  life,  had  rapidly  accumu- 
lated, he  conceived  the  idea  of  bestowing  it  upon  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  to  further  the  increase  of 
educational  advantages,  which  at  that  time  were  more 
needed  on  this  continent  than  in  Europe. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  nature  of  his  parentage  is 
important,  not  only  as  explaining  why  he  changed  his  name 
from  Macie  to  Smithson,  but  why  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
establishing  an  institution  in  this  country  to  perpetuate  his 
borrowed  name.  He  once  wrote  :  "  The  best  blood  of  Eng- 
land flows  in  my  veins  ;  on  my  father's  side  I  am  a  North- 
umberland, on  my  mother's  side  I  am  related  to  kings.  But 
this  avails  me  not.  My  name  shall  live  in  the  memory  of 
man  when  the  titles  of  Northumberland  and  the  Percys  are 
extinct  and  forgotten." 

It  would  appear  from  this  that  he  deliberately  cast  about 
for  a  means  to  make  good  this  assertion  and,  if  so,  he  cer- 
tainly took  a  wise  course. 

The  legacy  became  available  in  1838,  and  was  brought 
over  in  English  sovereigns  which,  when  recoined,  netted  a 
little  over  $508,000.  The  only  unfortunate  thing  about  the 
bequest  was  that  Smithson  did  not  specify  the  nature  and 
precise  objects  of  the  proposed  institution,  for  Congress  im- 
mediately fell  into  a  serious  disagreement  as  to  the  methods 
by  which  the  objects  of  the  testator  could  be  accomplished. 
One  proposed  a  university  of  the  highest  possible  grade ; 
another  an  observatory  "  with  the  biggest  spyglass  in  the 


HOW  THE  INSTITUTION  WAS  ESTABLISHED.  497 

world  ; "  another  the  cultivation  of  seeds  and  plants  for  dis- 
tribution; another  an  institution  for  experimentation  in 
physical  science  especially  pertaining  to  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country ;  another  an  establishment  for  rearing  sheep, 
horses,  and  silkworms.  There  were,  besides,  strong  argu- 
ments against  accepting  the  trust  at  all,  the  strict  construc- 
tionists  of  the  Constitution,  as  usual,  finding  no  warrant  for 
such  a  thing. 

At  last  the  trust  was  accepted,  and  in  1846  a  law  was 
passed  organizing  the  institution,  the  government  assuming 
to  pay  6  per  cent,  on  the  fund  semi-annually  for  its  uses.  A 
board  of  regents  was  established  and  the  accumulation  of 
interest  devoted  to  the  erection  of  a  building,  the  site  for 
which,  consisting  of  fifty  acres,  was  given  by  the  govern- 
ment from  the  abundance  of  unoccupied  and  unpromising 
land  within  the  city. 

But  while  James  Smithson  provided  the  money,  the  in- 
stitution was  really  founded  by  Joseph  Henry,  who  was  ap- 
pointed its  first  secretary.  In  entering  upon  his  duties  he 
drew  up  for  the  regents  a  scheme  for  the  operation  of  the  insti- 
tution that  was  adopted  and  that  lias  since  been  maintained. 
Its  leading  principles  are  that,  inasmuch  as  the  testator's  de- 
sign was  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  "  among  men," 
its  work  should  not  be  local  or  even  national,  nor  should  it 
devote  its  resources  and  energies  to  anything  which  could 
be  done  as  well  by  any  other  institution. 

In  accordance  with  these  principles,  its  great  library  has 
been  incorporated  with  the  Library  of  Congress,  its  art 
treasures  transferred  to  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art,  its 
meteorological  observations  to  the  Weather  Bureau,  and  its 
herbarium  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Besides,  it 
has  originated  and  still  retains  control  of  several  govern- 
mental enterprises  which  are  nevertheless  provided  for  by 
Congress,  such  as  the  National  Museum,  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, and  the  National  Zoological  Park.  It  has  thus  been 


498  HOW  KNOWLEDGE  IS  DIFFUSED. 

the  fountain  head  of  many  of  the  profitable  functions  of  the 
government. 

Having  incidentally  originated  and  developed  these 
branches  of  scientific  pursuit,  the  Smithsonian  now  largely 
devotes  its  energies  and  means  to  scientific  experiments  and 
to  the  issue  of  several  publications.  Papers  presented  for 
publication  are  submitted  to  competent  committees  for  ex- 
amination, first,  as  to  their  being  real  additions  to  the  exist- 
ing knowledge,  and  second,  as  to  whether  they  are  worthy  of 
the  institution.  The  design  is  to  stimulate  men  who  have 
talents  for  original  investigations  by  offering  to  publish  to 
the  world  an  account  of  their  discoveries.  The  author  is 
presented  with  a  few  copies  of  the  work,  but  beyond  this 
receives  no  remuneration. 

The  "  diffusion  of  knowledge  "  is  specially  promoted  by 
a  system  for  the  interchange  of  American  and  foreign  scien- 
tific thought  and  achievement.  This  work,  which  has  at- 
tained great  proportions,  is  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Inter- 
national Exchanges,  and  through  it  the  publications  of  the 
national  government  as  well  as  those  of  the  institution  are 
regularly  exchanged.  Thousands  of  works,  embracing  the 
details  of  the  latest  inventions  and  discoveries,  are  brought 
to  this  country  in  this  way,  while,  in  turn,  a  knowledge  of 
our  achievements  is  diffused  abroad.  Over  2,000  foreign 
societies  are  now  in  correspondence  with  the  institution. 

The  building  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the  grounds 
originally  granted  to  the  institution.  The  specimens  now  on 
exhibition  in  its  main  halls  are  but  a  fraction  of  those  which 
the  institution  has  collected.  A  large  proportion  of  them 
are  in  the  National  Museum,  and  the  Smithsonian  has  re- 
served for  itself  only  a  portion  of  the  collections  pertaining 
to  Natural  History,  with  a  few  miscellaneous  specimens  of 
ethnological  significance.  The  main  exhibit  is  one  of  the 
choicest  collections  of  stuffed  birds  in  the  world.  Case  after 
case  through  one  of  its  great  halls  is  filled  with  birds  of  all 


NATURE'S  EXQUISITE  HANDIWORK.  499 

feathers,  mounted  so  skillfully  that  they  exhibit  not  only 
the  characteristic  poses  of  the  birds  but  in  many  cases  their 
habits  in  life.  They  vary  in  size  from  the  smallest  humming 
bird  to  the  largest  ostrich,  and  art  has  never  yet  imitated 
the  marvelous  variety  and  beauty  of  the  colors  and  shades 
of  color  displayed  by  the  plumage  of  these  specimens  from 
every  clime. 

Another  large  hall  is  devoted  to  insects  collected  from  an 
equally- wide  area  and  presenting  as  great  a  diversity  in  size 
and  color.  In  one  case,  for  example,  we  may  behold  the 
many  varieties  of  the  butterfly.  Nothing  can  surpass  the 
delicate  markings  and  texture  of  the  wings  of  some  of  these 
specimens.  Here  also  is  a  marvelous  collection  of  birds' 
eggs  varying  in  size  all  the  way  from  a  homeopathic  pellet 
to  a  football.  The  collection  of  shells,  of  sponges,  of  coral, 
and  other  curious  organisms  of  the  sea  is  enormous. 

So  many  are  the  objects  of  lustrous  beauty  that  we  find 
ourselves  constantly  revising  our  opinion  of  the  resources  of 
Dame  Nature,  and  we  are  amazed  at  the  exquisite  skill  with 
which  she  works  to  secure  the  most  delightful  shades  of 
color  even  in  tiny  little  mollusks.  "  Mr.  Scientist,"  however, 
smiles  and  says  all  this  apparent  color  is  only  a  difference  in 
molecular  motion,  and  the  colors  that  we  see,  "  or,  rather, 
think  we  see,"  are  only  such  components  of  light  as  are  not 
absorbed  by  the  organic  molecules.  Mr.  Scientist  stands 
ready  to  take  all  the  romance  out  of  our  ideas  wherever  we 
stop  to  admire,  but  he  experiences  a  delight  of  a  different 
kind  in  his  observations  of  the  "  mechanism  "  of  nature. 

It  is  only  when  we  step  from  the  exhibition  halls  to  the 
offices  and  laboratories  of  the  institution  that  we  see  it  as  it 
is  —  a  great  working  establishment  in  the  interest  of  science. 
If  you  have  a  theory  on  whick  you  believe  you  can  base  an 
important  discovery,  you  will  be  welcome  here,  if  it  is  of 
value.  The  institution  will  assist  you  in  your  researches, 
guard  your  interests,  and  publish  your  discovery,  if  it  proves 


500  REVEALING  THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SUN. 

to  be  such,  so  that  it  may  at  once  reach  the  whole  scientific 
world.  It  is  what  its  benefactor  wished,  an  establishment 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

The  scientific  experts  of  the  institution  are  constantly 
making  some  of  the  most  remarkable  experiments  and 
devising  instruments  of  the  most  intricate  design  and  delicate 
machinery.  Every  sunshiny  day  men  are  endeavoring  to 
wring  from  the  rays  of  the  sun  their  secrets,  to  discover  how 
they  differ,  and  how  they  affect  the  earth.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  instruments  of  all  is  a  so-called  bolometer,  a 
device  for  determining  the  nature  of  the  invisible  rays  of  the 
sun,  that  is,  those  which  do  not  reveal  themselves  as  light. 
In  the  observatory  is  located  a  great  mirror  so  controlled  by 
clockwork  that  it  always  turns  itself  squarely  to  the  sun. 
It  reflects  a  sunbeam  directly  into  a  long  metal  tube  which 
contains  a  lens,  and  this  throws  a  slender  ray  into  a  building 
where  is  a  delicate  apparatus  for  separating  it  into  all  of  its 
component  parts,  and  which  is  designed  to  record  the  differ- 
ing temperatures  of  the  invisible  rays  below  the  red  or 
above  the  violet  of  the  spectrum. 

This  instrument  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  thing  of 
its  kind  ever  designed.  It  consists  of  a  tiny  balance,  the 
beam  of  which  is  a  thread  of  spun  glass  finer  than  the  finest 
hair.  In  the  middle  of  the  beam  is  a  concave  glass  mirror 
not  larger  than  a  common  pin-head,  and  yet  absolutely  per- 
fect in  form.  It  weighs  two  and  one-half  milligrammes  — 
just  about  as  much  as  the  leg  of  a  fly  —  and  the  whole  affair 
is  suspended  from  a  fiber  of  quartz  crystal  two  feet  long  and 
so  slender  as  to  be  almost  invisible.  The  beam  is  so  arranged 
by  the  aid  of  electric  contrivances,  too  complicated  to  be 
briefly  described,  that  it  is  inclined  one  way  or  the  other  by 
the  slightest  difference  in  temperature  of  a  sun  ray  falling 
on  the  mirror.  This  mirror  throws  a  small  dot  of  light  on  a 
wall  graduated  like  a  thermometer,  so  that  by  watching  this 
dot  the  variations  in  heat  of  invisible  rays  are  determined. 


ATTRACTIONS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ZOO.  501 

The  institution  hopes  some  day  to  know  so  much  about 
these  invisible  rays  as  to  be  able  to  predict  weather  condi- 
tions a  year  in  advance,  and  do  a  great  many  other  things 
equally  marvelous. 

In  the  course  of  its  work  the  Smithsonian  early  collected 
many  live  animals  and  birds.  As  the  government  had  made 
no  provision  for  such  specimens,  it  became  necessary  to  con- 
fine them,  not  always  with  the  most  reassuring  security,  in 
grounds  back  of  the  institution  building.  Special  pains  were 
taken  to  secure  good  specimens  of  certain  American  animals 
that  were  threatened  with  extinction,  and,  in  course  of  time, 
people  living  near  the  institution  observed  from  their  win- 
dows an  ever-increasing  herd  of  buffaloes  and  other  wild 
beasts.  Finally  Congress  was  prevailed  upon  to  do  some- 
thing for  this  growing  menagerie  in  the  midst  of  the  city, 
and  167  acres  of  land  were  purchased  on  Eock  Creek,  a  little 
above  Georgetown.  While  maintaining  as  one  of  the  chief 
objects  of  the  "  Zoo  "  thus  provided  for,  the  preservation  of 
American  animals  threatened  with  extinction,  the  scope  was 
enlarged  so  as  to  foster  the  collection  of  live  animals  from  all 
climes  for  exhibition  purposes. 

The  great  park,  consisting  of  rolling  uplands  broken  by 
deep  ravines,  is  beautifully  adapted  to  its  purpose.  On  cul- 
tivated portions  are  placed  the  various  houses  and  enclosures 
for  animals  requiring  protection  in  the  winter  season,  while 
the  hardier  classes  are  quartered  out  of  doors  the  year  round 
in  spacious  wire-guarded  enclosures  about  the  ravines  and 
hillsides.  Herds  of  happy  and  healthy  bison,  elk,  and  deer 
occupy  great  paddocks,  providing  them  with  extensive  pas- 
tures. Standing  upon  one  of  the  elevated  portions  of  the 
grounds,  you  may  look  down  through  the  trees  upon  a  herd 
of  buffaloes  grazing  peacefully  in  the  lowlands,  while  in  the 
ravine  upon  the  other  side  along  the  creek  is  a  colony  of 
beavers,  burrowing  in  the  banks,  constructing  dams  and 
houses  and  cutting  down  trees  in  their  ingenious  and  work- 


503  SUPPLYING  FOOD  FISHES  FOR  A  NATION. 

man-like  fashion.  The  bear  deiR  are  unsurpassed  by  those 
of  any  zoo,  the  rude  caves  being  blasted  out  of  cliffs,  thus 
forming  natural  retreats  for  the  different  varieties. 

The  collection  is  growing  rapidly  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  various  government  agencies.  Consuls  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  our  army  officers  in  far-off  lands,  are 
invited  to  secure  live  animals  of  rare  types  and  send  them  to 
this  country  at  the  expense  of  the  government.  In  time, 
with  such  advantages,  the  National  Zoo  will  become  the 
largest  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  country  and  perhaps  in 
the  world.  Being  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  it  is  a  favorite 
resort  for  children,  and  there  is  always  some  queer  bird  or 
animal  stranger  for  them  to  pelt  with  goodies  "  to  see  him 
eat."  Every  bright  Sunday  the  animals'  quarters  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  delighted  crowd  of  visitors. 

The  Fish  Commission,  established  in  1861,  occupies  the 
old  ante-bellum  arsenal  on  Sixth  street.  While  an  inde- 
pendent organization,  it  is  nevertheless  largely  an  offshoot 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Its  general  work,  as  pro- 
vided for  by  law,  is  to  study  the  habits  of  fish  and  especially 
food  fishes,  and  to  devise  measures  for  maintaining  the  sup- 
ply. In  pursuit  of  this  object,  hatcheries  have  been  estab- 
lished in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  every  year  mil- 
lions of  the  fry  of  the  most  valuable  food  fishes  are  placed 
in  the  rivers  of  the  country  best  fitted  for  their  existence. 

One  of  these  hatcheries  is  maintained  in  Washington, 
and  if  you  visit  the  building  at  the  right  time  you  may 
observe  the  process  in  a  series  of  tanks  arranged  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  building,  and  will  note  how,  under  good  condi- 
tions, it  requires  little  room  for  the  hatching  of  many  mil- 
lions of  fish,  any  one  of  which,  when  full  grown,  might  give 
an  angler  all  the  sport  he  desired.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
many  of  the  salmon,  shad,  and  other  food  fishes  we  eat  were 
born  at  Washington,  or  in  some  of  the  other  hatcheries. 

Naturally,  after  the  fish  are  born,  the  next  problem  ig 


FREAKS  OF  THE  FINNY  TRIBE.  503 

how  to  convey  them  to  the  stream  or  lake  best  suited  to  their 
requirements.  As  this  may  be  hundreds  of  miles  distant,  the 
commission  provides  specially-fitted  cars,  which  can  some- 
times be  seen  side-tracked  near  its  building.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  cars  is  complete,  and  the  infant  fish  not  only 
travels  with  plenty  of  companions,  but  he  is  well  attended, 
and  his  meals  are  furnished.  He  can  disport  himself  in 
water  to  his  heart's  content  and  suffer  none  of  the  incon- 
veniences of  travel.  The  arrangement  of  the  tanks  is  such 
that  they  can  be  supplied  with  fresh  water,  and  when  the 
cars  reach  their  destination  the  fish  are  turned  loose  to  take 
their  chances  among  other  fish  and  among  the  fishermen. 

Among  the  most  entertaining  exhibits  are  the  glass  tanks 
of  different  kinds  of  live  fish.  These  tanks  are  located 
along  the  walls  of  a  sort  of  artificial  grotto  in  the  basement 
of  the  building,  and  are  constantly  supplied  with  running 
water  and  lighted  from  hidden  windows  above.  Here  we 
may  study  the  habits  of  fish  in  their  natural  element,  and 
note  the  perfect  and  graceful  movement  of  their  fins,  and 
the  exquisite  coloring  of  their  scales.  Among  those  that 
attract  by  their  beauty  are  mingled  many  that  are  curious, 
and  even  grotesque.  Such  is  the  flounder,  which  lies  so  flat 
in  the  sand  as  to  be  unnoticed  until,  after  much  flopping  and 
floundering,  —  whence  his  name  —  he  rises  and  darts  about 
with  great  celerity.  Here,  too,  one  may  watch  the  little 
sea-horse,  most  fantastic  of  marine  creatures.  At  rest,  he 
clings  with  his  curving  tail,  ape-like,  to  the  seaweeds  and 
mosses  of  the  tank,  but  when  the  fancy  takes  him  for  a 
swim  he  moves  about  erect,  with  as  many  antics  as  a  playful 
pony,  and  most  obsequious  bowings  of  his  crested  head  as 
he  meets  others  of  his  kind,  all  equally  polite  and  amusing. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIV. 

FOREIGN  LEGATIONS  AND  THE   DIPLOMATIC   CORPS— THE 
DUTIES  AND  RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  FOREIGN  REP- 
RESENTATIVES IN  WASHINGTON. 

The  Exposed  Side  of  Diplomatic  Life  —  Looking  "Pleasant"  —  Social 
Status  of  Foreign  Representatives  —  Daily  Routine  —  Spies  Upon 
Our  Government  —  Social  Lions  —  Aspiring  to  Diplomatic  Honors 
—  Glimpses  of  Foreign  Home  Life  —  Peculiar  Dress  and  Queer 
Customs  —  Oddities  in  House  Furnishings  and  Decorations  —  Social 
Etiquette  —  Who  Pays  the  First  Visit— Official  Calls  — The  Ladies 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  —  Why  the  President  Never  Crosses  the 
Threshold  of  a  Foreign  Legation  —  Breaches  of  Etiquette  —  Topics 
That  Are  Never  Discussed  —  Tactless  Ministers  —  Giving  Meddling 
Ambassadors  Their  Passports  —  Some  Notable  Examples  —  The  Fate 
of  Foreign  Representatives  Who  Criticise  or  Abuse  the  President. 


HE  popular  impression  is  that  the  life  of  a  foreign 
diplomat  at  Washington  is  one  of  ease  and 
pleasure.  A  natural  inference  from  the  society 
columns  in  newspapers,  which  are  constantly 
furnishing  glowing  accounts  of  social  events,  is  that 
a  foreign  representative  has  no  mission  save  that  of 
looking  handsome,  wearing  gorgeous  raiment,  and  feasting 
sumptuously  every  day,  having  no  more  care  than  a  butter- 
fly and  no  serious  responsibilities  to  disturb  his  equanimity. 
This  impression  is  heightened  by  the  fact  that  in  the  sum- 
mer season  the  diplomatic  legations,  with  hardly  an  excep- 
tion, are  closed  or  left  in  charge  of  subordinates,  while  the 
ministers  and  ambassadors  with  their  families  enjoy  them- 
selves at  fashionable  seaside  resorts,  or  visit  their  homes  in 
their  native  land. 

(504), 


A  DUTY  TO  BE  AGREEABLE.        .  505 

But  this  is  only  the  exposed  side  of  diplomatic  life.  It  is 
one  of  the  duties  of  a  foreign  diplomat  in  Washington,  as  it 
is  one  of  the  duties  of  our  representatives  abroad,  to  employ 
diplomacy  and  to  be  generally  agreeable.  So  •  doing,  he 
can  better  exercise  the  functions  of  a  legitimate  spy  upon 
our  operations  as  a  government  and  a  people.  But  the  dip- 
lomat's real  duties  are  largely  of  a  strictly-private  nature, 
and  are  generally  known  only  to  himself  and  his  govern- 
ment. Thus  our  general  information  as  to  diplomatic 
actions  and  behavior  is  largely  confined  to  the  society  col- 
umns of  newspapers,  and  it  may  be  added  that  to  old  and 
practiced  diplomats  there  is  nothing  so  tedious  as  the 
requirements  of  their  social  routine.  To  them  it  is  usually 
a  bore.  They  are  not  apt  to  accept  invitations  unless  they 
feel  that  it  is  advisable  for  State  reasons,  or  is  required  by 
etiquette ;  and  thus  the  hostess  who  secures  them  at  her 
social  events  is  supposed  to  be  highly  honored.  As  to 
whether  she  is  honored  or  not  depends  altogether  upon  the 
character  of  the  diplomat. 

The  daily  routine  of  each  legation  makes  as  peremptory 
a  demand  upon  time  as  the  routine  of  any  department  of 
the  government.  Each  has  its  archives  which  are  faithfully 
maintained ;  each  is  apt  to  have  instructions  from  its  gov- 
ernment requiring  constant  attention,  more  often  through 
correspondence  but  occasionally  through  a  personal  inter- 
view with  the  Secretary  of  State ;  each  stands  in  a  sort  of 
paternal  relation  to  the  various  foreign  consuls  at  different 
commercial  centers,  and  through  them  often  executes  the 
general  orders  of  the  home  government.  Each  is  attended 
by  various  attaches,  the  number  dependent  upon  the  char- 
acter  of  the  legation,  who  have  special  duties  to  perform. 
In  the  exercise  of  these  duties,  attaches*  are  instructed  in  the 
principles  of  diplomacy,  and  in  time  they  aspire  to  the  dig- 
nity of  some  diplomatic  post. 

As  a  rule,  diplomats  are  men  who  have  resided  in  many 


506  A  GLIMPSE  OF  BEAUTIFUL,  HOMES. 

countries  and  have  studied  their  characteristic  differences. 
By  knowing  the  peculiarities  of  various  governments  they 
can  better  appreciate  the  peculiarities  of  those  to  which 
they  maybe  sent.  Having  seen  so  much  from  such  advan- 
tageous positions,  they  are  delightful  talkers,  if  they  wish  to 
be,  and  usually  are  well  educated  and  brilliant  men. 

There  is  no  minister  in  the  diplomatic  service  who  has  so 
wide  a  field  of  duty  as  the  Chinese  Minister.  He  is  not 
only  accredited  at  Washington  and  at  Mexico,  and  at  Spain 
and  Portugal,  but  fully  one-half  of  the  Central  and  South 
American  governments  are  under  his  care,  so  far  as  they 
relate  to  China.  But  his  headquarters  are  at  Washington, 
and  the  "Chinese  Embassy"  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
houses  in  the  city.  Its  fine  granite  exterior  furnishes  no 
indication  of  the  Orientalism  within,  unless  perchance  as 
you  pass  you  may  happen  to  see  a  Chinaman  taking  a  little 
exercise  by  walking  back  and  forth  on  the  great  stone 
piazza.  Or  you  may  chance  to  see  the  minister  himself, 
with  his  fine  raiment,  his  mandarin's  hat,  his  pig-tail,  and  a 
twinkle  in  his  eyes. 

While  the  exterior  of  the  Chinese  mission  is  so  thor- 
oughly American  its  interior  abounds  in  Oriental  surround- 
ings. Beautiful  Chinese  hangings  and  curious  works  of  art 
are  among  the  decorations,  though  the  Chinese  and  Western 
civilizations  are  strangely  mingled.  The  embassy  has  never 
had  a  house  of  its  own  but  has  always  rented,  and  doubtless 
for  this  reason  its  appearance  partakes  so  largely  of  conven- 
tional furnishings.  Occasional  entertainments  are  held  at 
the  Chinese  legation  during  the  winter,  and  these  social 
events  are  looked  forward  to  with  pleasant  anticipation  by 
Washington  society,  because  they  are  invariably  unique  and 
enjoyable. 

In  point  of  size  and  elegance  the  British  legation  stands 
easily  at  the  head.  It  is  a  large  mansion  elegantly  furnished 
in  English  style.  When  alterations  and  repairs  are  made 


ETIQUETTE  OF  THE  EMBASSIES.  507 

the  architect  of  the  British  Foreign  Office  comes  over  to 
design  and  supervise  them. 

Probably  one  of  the  most  delightful  and  interesting  em- 
bassies is  that  of  Japan,  but  as  that  nation  has  of  late 
become  fully  in  touch  with  the  ways  of  Western  civilization, 
the  legation  is  less  conspicuous  for  its  oddities  than  for  that 
refined  artistic  sense  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Japanese. 

The  Russian  and  French  legations  are  usually  among 
the  gayest  of  the  social  season,  while  those  of  the  South 
American  Republics  are  among  the  most  charming. 

The  social  etiquette  of  the  city  is  largely  conditioned  by 
the  presence  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  which  consists  of  six 
ambassadors  and  twenty-five  ministers  plenipotentiary. 
They  are  ranked  strictly  in  the  order  of  their  seniority  of 
commission,  and  arrival  in  "Washington.  The  British  Am- 
bassador at  present  holds  the  position  of  dean  of  the  corps, 
having  been  the  first  of  the  ambassadors  appointed.  Up  to 
the  time  of  the  "coming  of  ambassadors,  as  distinguished 
from  ministers  plenipotentiary,  it  was  the  custom  of  the  for- 
eign ministers,  from  the  necessity  of  making  themselves 
known,  to  pay  the  first  visit  to  the  representatives  of  the 
nation ;  but  otherwise  all  persons,  official  or  otherwise,  pay 
the  first  call  to  the  embassies.  The  ladies  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  have  no  special  day  on  which  to  receive  callers,  each 
household  making  its  own  rules  in  this  respect. 

As  the  President  and  his  wife  may  or  not  make  calls,  it 
is  entirely  at  their  option  whether  or  not  they  accept  invita- 
tions ;  but  it  is  not  proper  for  either  the  President  or  his 
wife  to  cross  the  threshold  of  any  foreign  legation,  although 
other  members  of  their  family  may  do  so.  This  is  one  of 
the  rules  which  is  supposed  to  conserve  the  dignity  of  the 
office  of  President,  and  also  remove  him  from  the  dangers 
of  too  free  contact  with  the  representatives  of  scheming  for- 
eign powers.  The  President's  dinners  and  receptions  to  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  while  the  most  brilliant  events  of  the 


508  DISMISSING  OBNOXIOUS  MINISTERS. 

season,  are  purely  perfunctory  and  formal,  and  it  is  a  breach 
of  etiquette  to  touch  in  conversation  upon  subjects  of  inter- 
national affairs  or  even  of  national  politics. 

The  foreign  minister  is  supposed  to  have  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  our  national  politics.  It  is  a  serious  matter 
for  him  even  to  appear  to  influence  opinion,  even  if  he  does 
not  intend  to  do  so.  It  was  for  such  an  alleged  offense  as 
this  that  a  British  minister  was  once  given  his  passports. 
Lord  Sackville  West  wrote  an  imprudent  letter  to  a  corres- 
pondent, criticising  the  administration,  and  President  Cleve- 
land at  once  handed  him  his  passports. 

All  governments  reserve  the  right  to  dismiss  foreign 
ministers  who  may  have  rendered  themselves  obnoxious  in 
any  way.  The  first  instance  in  which  this  right  was  exer- 
cised was  in  the  administration  of  "Washington.  The 
French  Minister,  Genet,  was  given  his  passport  but  refused 
to  leave  the  country,  remaining  here  to  be  used  by  the 
political  enemies  of  Washington  until  recalled  at  Washing- 
ton's request  by  the  French  government. 

Almost  the  first  act  of  General  Taylor  on  becoming 
President  was  to  direct  Mr.  Clayton,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
to  send  Mr.  Poussin,  the  French  Minister,  his  passports  for 
infringement  of  courtesy  in  his  correspondence.  He  also 
directed  him  to  inform  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  of 
Fraace,  who  had  criticised  some  act  of  the  government,  that 
the  President  had  neither  asked  nor  desired  his  opinion  on 
the  matter.  The  most  recent  case  was  that  of  the  Spanish 
Minister  De  Lome,  who  sometime  prior  to  the  outbreak  of 
our  war  with  Spain  wrote  a  letter  to  a  Cuban  friend, 
grossly  criticising  and  abusing  President  McKinley.  The 
letter  in  some  way  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  govern- 
ment, De  Lome  was  promptly  dismissed ;  but  instead  of 
returning  to  Spain  he  simply  crossed  the  border  into  Can- 
ada, where  for  a  time  he  maintained  an  information  bureau 
for  his  government. 


CHAPTEE  XXXY. 

THE  NEWS  BUREAUS  OF  WASHINGTON  —  KEEPING  AN  EYE 

ON  OTHER  NATIONS  — HOW  NEWS  IS  INSTANTLY 

OBTAINED  FROM  ANF  TRANSMITTED  TO 

ANY  PART  Ol   THE  WORLD. 

The  Washington  Headquarters  of  a  Hundred  Newspaper  Bureaus  —  Keen 
Newspaper  Men  —  How  the  News  Is  Gathered  —  Transmitting  It  to 
All  the  World  —  The  Ceaseless  Click  of  the  Telegraph  —  Operations 
Far  Beneath  the  Surface  — The  Best-Posted  Men  in  Washington  — 
"Newspaper  Sense"  —  How  the  Wires  for  News  Are  Laid  —  Antici- 
pating Future  Events — Secret  Sources  of  Information  —  "Cover- 
ing" Anything  and  Anybody  —  Receiving  News  "  Tips  "  —  Running 
Down  Rumors — Officials  Who  "Leak" — How  Great  Secrets  Are 
Unconsciously  Divulged  —  Putting  This  and  That  Together  — 
Reporters'  Tactics  —  Keeping  an  Eye  on  the  State  Department  — 
Scenting  News  —  *'  Work  Is  Easy  When  Times  Are  Newsy  "  —  Study- 
ing the  Weak  and  Strong  Points  of  Public  Men  —  At  the  Mercy  of 
Newspapers. 

t 

AS  SING  along  the  streets  immediately  east  of  the 
Treasury  building,  a  glance  at  the  windows 
and  doorways  on  either  side  reveals  numerous 
signs  indicating  that  the  great  daily  newspapers 
in  the  country  meet  and  touch  here.  It  is  preemi- 
nently the  vortex  into  which  is  ever  being  swept  all  the 
news  of  the  government,  and  from  here  it  is  sent  out  all 
over  the  country,  every  hour  of  the  day  and  for  a  greater 
part  of  the  night.  Into  this  teeming  center  run  many  wires. 
Here  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night  may  be  heard  the  cease- 
less click  of  the  telegraph,  the  constant  pattering  of  many 
feet,  and  the  almost  continuous  rolling  of  cabs.  Here,  both 
with  thoroughness  and  dispatch  is  shaped  the  news,  the  gos< 

(509) 


510  HOW   THE  NEWS  IS   GATHERED. 

sip,  and  the  discussions  of  "Washington  affairs  that  are  read 
at  tens  of  thousands  of  breakfast-tables  on  the  following 
morning,  and  here  every  day  is  also  collected  a  similar  grist 
for  the  evening  papers. 

The  ordinary  individual,  accustomed  to  Washington  life, 
may  see  little  but  a  monotonous  routine — the  meeting  and 
adjournment  of  Congress,  long  and  dry  debates,  successive 
roll-calls,  the  never-ending  grinding  of  the  departmental  mills. 
All  this  is  quite  as  monotonous  to  a  Washington  news  corre- 
spondent as  to  any  one  else.  What  inevitably  happens 
every  day  is  of  little  or  no  importance  to  him.  As  a  rule 
his  field  of  operations  is  beneath  the  surface  of  things.  He 
must  know  the  hidden  motives  underlying  action,  and  the 
purposes  and  desires  of  members  of  Congress  and  important 
administrative  officials,  as  far  as  possible,  and  be  able  to 
forecast  with  some  accuracy,  and  at  least  in  an  interesting 
manner,  what  is  likely  to  be  the  result  of  any  unsettled  con- 
dition of  things  or  the  conclusion  of  any  disputed  question. 

A  good  journalistic  correspondent  is  the  best-posted  man 
in  Washington.  Administrations  and  Congresses  come  and 
go,  but  he  is  here  always.  A  new  President  may  have  much 
to  learn,  the  heads  of  departments  may  be  green  at  first  — 
and  a  large  part  of  Congress  is  ever  thus  —  but  the  corre- 
spondent is  never  green.  He  could  not  be  a  newspaper  cor- 
respondent if  he  were.  He  must  not  only  have  the  "  news- 
paper sense,"  but  now-a-days  he  must  have  a  carefully- 
constructed  and  well-equipped  machine  for  collecting  infor- 
mation. He  must  have  his  established  connections  with 
important  sources  of  news  either  in  official  or  social  life. 
But  he  cares  nothing  for  society  except  as  a  means  to  an 
end.  He  has  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  enter  into  the 
social  whirl,  but  he  must  so  lay  his  wires  that  any  stray  sug- 
gestion dropped  amid  social  surroundings  will  find  its  way 
into  his  information  department.  Such  information  may 
not  be  of  the  slightest  use  to  him  at  present,  but  the  possi- 


A  NEWSPAPER  CORRESPONDENT'S  BUSY  DAY.  511 

bility  of  its  forming  a  connecting  link  in  some  important 
development  later  on  may  make  it  of  the  utmost  value. 

That  part  of  the  gallery  in  the  Senate  chamber  directly 
back  of  and  above  the  presiding  officer's  chair,  is  the  press 
gallery,  and  a  similar  one  is  in  like  manner  located  in  the 
House,  but  seldom  more  than  one  or  two  young  men  can 
ever  be  seen  in  either  of  them.  Even  when  debates  are  warm 
and  matters  of  great  public  interest  are  up  for  consideration, 
and  all  other  galleries  are  crowded,  the  press  gallery  is 
generally  deserted  except  for  these  one  or  two  young  men. 
None  of  the  Washington  correspondents  are  there.  The 
two  young  men  represent  simply  press  associations,  and 
report  that  part  of  debates  which  they  believe  to  be  of  spe- 
cial interest ;  and  their  reports  are  available  to  all  corre- 
spondents and  to  all  newspapers  which  are  members  of  the 
associations.  Knowing  that  this  service  will  furnish  all  that 
is  needed  of  Congressional  debates,  no  correspondent  thinks 
of  wasting  his  time  over  them. 

"We  may  best  observe  how  he  actually  spends  his  time  by 
going  to  his  office  and  following  him  for  a  day.  Each  large 
newspaper  maintains  a  bureau  depending  in  size  upon  the 
standing  of  the  journal.  Smaller  papers  may  have  only  a 
single  representative,  but  the  correspondents  of  larger  pa- 
pers have  a  considerable  working  force  under  them.  Going 
to  one  of  these  bureaus  about  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we 
find  an  extensive  series  of  rooms,  generally  well  carpeted 
and  generously  furnished  with  tables  and  desks.  In  the 
larger  office  sits  the  correspondent.  He  has  looked  over  the 
morning  paper  and  noted  any  suggestions  of  news  which 
may  be  investigated  by  the  young  men  of  his  force,  who 
under  his  direction  "  cover  "  certain  departments  of  the  gov- 
ernment, but  who  may  "  cover "  anything  and  anybody  if 
the  emergency  arises.  They  post  the  correspondent  upon 
what  they  think  may  happen  in  their  particular  fields 
within  the  next  few  hours. 


512 

The  reporter  for  the  State  Department  may  have  re- 
ceived a  tip  that  certain  diplomatic  correspondence  is  to  be 
given  out,  or  he  may  have  learned  that  a  foreign  minister 
has  received  a  communication  from  his  government  and  is 
to  convey  it  to  the  State  Department  before  night.  The 
reporter  for  the  Treasury  Department  has  received  a  tip 
that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  about  to  call  in  bonds, 
or  that  the  Secret  Service  is  deep  in  a  new  counterfeiting 
plot  which  it  is  trying  to  keep  secret. 

Another  reporter  possibly  had  a  chat  with  a  Congress- 
man the  night  before,  and  had  deftly  drawn  from  him  a 
rather  important  piece  of  information  which  the  Congress- 
man had  no  idea  of  giving  away.  He  probably  was  uncon- 
scious that  he  did  so,  but  the  suave  reporter  knew,  as 
regarding  certain  rumors,  that  one  or  the  other  must  be 
true,  and  he  knew  by  the  way  the  Congressman  answered  a 
cleverly-put  question  exactly  which  was  true.  It  was  not 
necessary  for  him  to  press  the  matter  further  and  thus  give 
the  Congressman  the  mortification  of  knowing  that  he  had 
"  leaked,"  as  the  correspondents  express  it. 

A  government  official  "  leaks  "  when  he  unconsciously  or 
otherwise  drops  a  secret  which  he  is  supposed  to  hold  and 
guard,  and  when  there  has  been  a  leak  somewhere  a  corre- 
spondent knows  that  it  will  generally  be  an  easy  matter  to 
get  the  whole  story.  As  a  matter  of  business  he  has  become 
familiar  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  men  concerned,  their 
conflicting  opinions  and  cross  purposes,  and  he  is  enough  of 
an  adept  in  his  art  to  feel  confident  that  when  the  man  has 
made  a  statement  in  his  own  favor  and  detrimental  to  the 
position  of  an  opponent,  he  has  only  to  see  the  opponent  to 
obtain  another  "  leak."  Thus  little  by  little  the  whole  story 
comes  out,  and  possibly  not  one  of  the  Congressmen  or  offi- 
cials thinks  that  he  contributed  in  any  way  to  it.  Each 
thinks  that  his  opponent  is  responsible  for  the  disclosure, 
but  the  correspondent  has  only  put  the  "leaks"  together. 


PLANNING  THE  DAY'S  WORK.  513 

Thus  with  his  subordinates  about  him  the  correspondent, 
or  chief  of  the  bureau,  lays  out  the  preliminary  work  of  the 
day,  knowing  full  well  that  anything  he  has  planned  may 
have  to  yield  to  some  sudden  development  from  an  unex- 
pected quarter,  requiring  him  and  his  men  to  hurry  all  over 
the  city  in*  search  of  various  officials.  To  each  bureau  also 
come  all  the  public  documents,  and  these  are  examined 
every  day  by  different  members  of  the  staff  for  hints  as  to 
possible  articles.  Yery  often  a  useful  piece  of  information 
turns  up  in  a  dry  consular  report,  or  one  of  the  scientific 
bureaus  makes  a  discovery  which  may  be  written  up  in  a 
popular  manner  for  the  Sunday  issue,  for  which  many 
articles  of  greater  or  less  interest,  but  not  exactly  of  a  newsy 
character,  are  constantly  reserved. 

The  correspondent  and  his  subordinates  must  always  keep 
in  ,mind  the  local  interests  of  the  journal  they  represent. 
While  matters  of  general  interest  must  not  be  neglected, 
any  action  of  the  federal  government  in  any  of  its  depart- 
ments relating  to  that  particular  city  and  state  is  of  special 
importance.  A  friendly  acquaintance  with  the  Senators  and 
Congressmen  from  that  state  is  therefore  essential,  and  as 
these  officials  are  well  aware  that  the  prominence  or  favor- 
able mention  which  the  correspondent  has  it  in  his  power 
to  give  them  in  the  home  journal  is  important  to  their  politi- 
cal interests,  they  are  seldom  anything  but  cordial  to  the 
correspondent. 

Having  planned  the  operations  of  the  day,  as  far  as  they 
can  be  planned,  the  chief  of  the  bureau  generally  goes  to 
the  Capitol  shortly  before  Congress  meets.  Back  of  the 
press  gallery  is  the  correspondent's  waiting-room,  in  which 
are  tables  and  all  other  conveniences  for  those  who  may  de- 
sire to  write.  Here  every  Congressional  day  about  noon  can 
always  be  found  a  gathering  of  smartly-dressed  and  alert- 
looking  correspondents,  rivals,  but  always  on  good  terms, 
and  if  need  be  they  can  work  together. 


514  TACTICS   OF  THE,   WILY  REPORTER. 

For  example,  while  they  are  waiting,  the  Senate  may  go 
into  executive  session,  a  session  about  which  the  world  is 
supposed  to  know  nothing.  When  it  is  over  the  correspond- 
ents make  it  their  special  business  to  find  out  all  about  it, 
especially  if  it  were  a  session  of  considerable  interest.  Each 
knows  the  Senators  with  whom  he  can  most  confidently 
talk,  and  all  Senators  who  are  "  leaky  "  are  generally  known-. 
The  correspondents  may  consider  it  necessary  to  throw 
Senators  off  their  guard  by  approaching  them  upon  some 
other  subject,  but  at  the  proper  time  bringing  them  around 
to  the  real  point  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  take  them  by 
surprise.  Often  the  subject  of  the  session  may  be  something 
about  which  some  Senator  feels  deeply,  and  he  can  not  dis- 
guise it.  The  secret  proceedings  may  have  been  such  that 
he  would  really  prefer  them  to  be  made  public.  Further- 
more, every  Senator  knows  that  if  he  were  brought  up  for 
divulging  the  secret,  the  correspondents  would  never  give 
him  away.- 

Thus  by  adopting  certain  tactics  towards  those  Senators 
who  wish  the  world  might  know  about  the  session,  and  by 
adopting  other  tactics  towards  those  who  are  praying  that 
the  secret  may  not  leak  out,  the  correspondents,  after  com- 
paring notes,  are  able  to  determine  with  accuracy  and  suf- 
ficiency its  exact  nature  and  details.  The  Senators  all  ex- 
pect to  see  an  account  of  it  in  the  morning  papers,  although 
none  of  them  are  conscious  of  having  revealed  it. 

But  correspondents  do  not  always  need  to  seek  sources 
of  information.  To  a  greater  or  less  extent  they  are  always 
seeking  them.  A  Congressman  has  said  or  done  something 
which  he  wishes  his  constituents  to  know  about.  Through 
his  influence,  the  Appropriations  Committee  may  have  been 
persuaded  to  raise  the  appropriation  for  improving  some 
creek  in  his  district.  It  is  not  a  subject  of  thrilling  interest, 
but  the  correspondent  is  sure  to  treat  it  generously  if  on  his 
part  the  Congressman  will  make  it  a  point  to  keep  him  in- 


"TIPS,"   AND   SOURCES   OF  INFORMATION.  515 

formed  of  what  is  going  on  relating  to  other  and  more  inter- 
esting topics.  Thus  every  correspondent  gradually  con- 
structs a  web  of  influences,  so  that  nothing  of  importance 
will  happen  without  a  "  tip  "  reaching  him. 

When  in  the  evening  he  has  returned  to  his  bureau  and 
is  comfortably  seated  in  his  office  chair,  he  will  expect,  if 
his  pipes  are  well  laid,  to  be  called  up  by  Senators  and  Con- 
gressmen who  volunteer  information  as  a  courtesy  and  in 
return  for  favors.  His  subordinates  return  from  their  spe- 
cial fields  of  duty  with  their  gleanings  and  are  busy  at  their 
desks,  while  dispatch  after  dispatch  is  laid  on  the  corre- 
spondent's desk.  Special  wires  connect  his  bureau  with  his 
journal.  The  latter  always  makes  an  arrangement  with 
telegraph  companies  so  that  dispatches  shall  never  be 
blocked.  Thus  from  a  hundred  newspaper  bureaus  within 
the  two  blocks  adjoining  the  Treasury  is  being  flashed  in 
every  direction  every  day  and  night  the  news  of  the  Capital 
city,  and  important  news  from  foreign  countries. 

The  correspondent  himself  generally  writes  a  sort  of 
editorial  account  of  the  trend  of  events.  If  a  tariff  discus- 
sion is  raging,  he  discusses  the-  chances  of  passage,  the  con- 
flicting interests,  the  possibilities  of  amendment,  always 
from  the  point  of  view  of  his  paper.  Being  on  the 
spot,  he  is  supposed  to  be  better  acquainted  with  the 
possibilities  regarding  any  legislation  than  outsiders;  but 
even  if  he  is,  he  does  not  forget  the  policy  of  his  journal. 
His  discussion  of  events  does  not  always  reveal  his  per- 
sonal opinions.  That  is  another  matter  and  does  not  con- 
cern his  paper  so  long  as  he  knows  how  wisely  to  reflect 
its  editor's  opinions. 

Often  the  most  important  foreign  news  reaches  this 
country  by  the  way  of  Washington.  Important  dispatches 
come  to  the  State  Department,  and  while  regarded  as  secret, 
the  keen  newspaper  men  at  once  note-  the  indications  of 

something  important,  and  proceed  to  run  it  down.    More 
29 


516  DAYS  OF  INTENSE  EXCITEMENT. 

often,  however,  foreign  matters  which  are  of  particular  in- 
terest in  Washington  come  from  the  cables  at  New  York, 
and  the  newspaper  men  are  the  first  bearers  of  intelligence 
to  the  officials. 

An  illustration  of  this  was  in  the  report  of  the  blowing 
up  of  the  Maine  in  Havana  harbor.  The  disaster  occurred 
a  little  before  midnight,  and  as  soon  as  a  brief  dispatch  an- 
nouncing the  disaster  reached  New  York  it  was  hurried  to 
Washington.  In  a  hundred  bureaus  the  work  of  the  day 
was  just  being  closed  up.  The  last  dispatches  were  being 
put  on  the  wire,  but  the  moment  the  news  of  the  disaster 
reached  the  correspondents  the  scene  changed  to  one  of 
bustling  activity.  Cabs  were  called,  newspaper  men  were 
hurrying  in  them  in  various  directions,  bells  were  rung,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  other  important  officials  were 
called  out  of  bed,  the  news  was  carried  to  the  White  House, 
and  officials  and  correspondents  waited  breathlessly  for  the 
official  dispatches.  The  air  was  surcharged  with  excitement 
everywhere  and  for  days.  This  is  what  the  correspondent 
likes.  Work  is  easy  when  times  are  "  newsy."  He  can,  if 
necessary,  make  news  which  is  tolerably  interesting,  but  his 
delight  is  in  handling  in  an  interesting  manner  news  that  is 
a  spontaneous  product. 

From  the  nature  of  things  newspaper  correspondents 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  peculiarities  in 
the  characters  of  public  men.  They  know  how  to  play 
upon  their  weakness,  if  necessary,  but  they  also  have  an 
established  rule  that  the  private  character  of  public  men 
is  not  a  legitimate  subject  for  discussion.  By  violating 
this  rule 'they  could  ruin  the  reputation  of  many  a  man, 
but  they  would  also  lose  their  own  standing  as  corre- 
spondents. They  consider  as  fit  subjects  for  criticism  only 
public  acts  of  public  officers.  Public  men  know  that  their 
private  secrets  are  in  their  hands,  but  they  know  also  that 
they  are  safe,  and  this  does  not  tend  to  diminish  the  num- 


A  BANQUET   OF   "  THE   GRIDIRON  CLUB."  51? 

her  of  favors  they  are  willing  to  show  to  correspondents 
in  the  way  of  news. 

Although  rivals  in  the  field  of  news,  the  correspondents 
constitute  a  body  of  men  animated  by  a  common  purpose 
and  infused  with  a  certain  esprit  de  corps,  which  is  strongly 
manifested  in  the  Gridiron  Club,  one  of  the  famous  institu- 
tions of  the  Capital.  There  is  no  public  man  who  does  not 
relish  and  hasten  to  accept  an  invitation  to  one  .of  its  din- 
ners. The  President  himself  can  hardly  be  deemed  an  ex- 
ception to  this,  for  presidents  and  their  cabinets  have  sat  at 
its  tables.  The  gravest  statesmen  accept  invitations  to  the 
banquets  of  the  club,  knowing  full  well  that  public  men  and 
public  policies  are  to  be  handled  without  gloves ;  but  they 
also  know  that  it  is  entirely  in  a  spirit  of  fun,  and  that  by 
an  inexorable  standing  rule  nothing  concerning  the  "  post- 
prandial capers"  shall  be  printed  or  even  mentioned  outside. 
It  is  a  place  in  which  public  men  can  "  rub  it  in  "  to  their 
fellows  as  deeply  as  they  desire,  knowing  that  it  contributes 
to  the  enjoyment  of  everybody  present  and  goes  no  farther. 
At  the  annual  dinner  in  1892  President  Harrison  and  his 
Cabinet  sat  at  the  club's  table,  and  the  President  spoke  with 
as  much  ease  as  he  would  have  spoken  in  his  own  parlor. 

To-day  no  Washington  correspondent  has  a  national 
reputation.  Few  outside  of  Washington  can  tell  who  they 
are.  They  are  as  keen  and  active  as  the -men  of  the  old 
class,  they  know  better  what  is  going  on,  yet  they  are  but 
parts  of  the  great  newspaper  machine.  It  makes  no  differ- 
ence to  the  public  or  to  the  editors  what  opinions  they  form 
of  current  events.  The  telegraphic  details  are  so  complete 
that  the  editors  can  form  opinions  for  themselves,  and  the 
present  tendency  is  for  the  editors  simply  to  print  the  news 
and  allow  the  people  to  form  their  own  opinions.  The  per- 
sonality of  the  Washington  correspondent  does  not  appear, 
but  he  is,-^ievertheless,  exercising  a  potent  influence  by  the 
manner  in  which  he  describes  the  happenings  at  the  Capital. 


CHAPTER  XXXVL 

WASHINGTON  STREET  LIFE  —  SOUTHERNERS,  WESTERNER^ 

AND  NEW  ENGLANDERS  — LIFE  AMONG  THE 

COLORED  PEOPLE -INTERESTING 

SIGHTS  AND  SCENES. 

A  Unique  City  —  Sights  and  Scenes  on  Washington  Streets  —  Taking  Life 
Easy  —  Living  on  Uncle  Sam  —  Mingling  With  the  Passing  Throng  — 
Life  in  Washington  Boarding  Houses  —  Politicians  From  the  Breezy 
West  —  Politicians  From  "Way  Down  East" — The  Ubiquitous  "Col- 
ored Pusson" — The  Negroes'  Social  Status  in  Washington  —  Negro 
Genteel  Society — Negro  Editors,  Professors,  and  Teachers  —  The 
"  Smart "  Negro  Set  —  Colored  Congregations  and  Church  Service  — 
Whistling  Darkies  —  Making  Night  Hideous  —  Life  in  Colored  Settle- 
ments—  Some  Wealthy  Negroes  —  How  They  Became  Rich  —  "Bad 
Niggers" — The  Paradise  of  Children  —  Morning  Sights  and  Scenes 
at  the  Markets— Where  Riches  and  Poverty  Meet  —  Fair  Women  Who 
Carry  Market  Baskets  —  Getting  Used  to  Washington  Life. 


CITY  without  factories,  without  tenement  houses, 
without  many  foreign-born  citizens ;  a  city  with- 
out a  mayor  or  aldermen,  and  in  which  no  one 
votes ;  a  government  city  without  a  city  govern- 
ment; a  city  of  streets  without  a  curve  and  most 
of  them  without  names,  streets  which,  running 
their  many  miles  of  smooth  asphalt,  are  a  paradise  for  bi- 
cyclists and  far  better  for  pedestrians  than  its  brick  side- 
walks ;  a  city  of  Americans  who  come  from  every  state  in 
the  Union,  and  yet  a  city  in  which  the  servants,  coachmen, 
drivers,  and  many  of  the  business  men,  even  policemen,  are 
Af ro- Americans ;  a  city  in  which  the  most  famous  men  in 
the  country  are  such  familiar  figures  that  they  attract  little 

(518) 


THE   PASSING   THRONG.  519 

attention ;  a  city  in  which  the  President  can  walk  without 
creating  the  least  excitement  and  yet  be  recognized  by 
everybody ; —  a  city  unique  in  all  these  respects  and  in  many 
others,  is  Washington. 

The  people  who  throng  its  streets  impress  one  very  dif- 
ferently from  those  seen  on  the  streets  of  other  cities. 
There  is  but  little  of  that  evident  mixture  of  all  classes,  the 
very  poor  and  the  very  rich,  for  however  different  may 
be  their  circumstances,  in  their  outward  appearance  such 
diversities  are  not  specially  marked. 

Fully  two-thirds  of  the  nearly  300,000  people  of  Wash- 
ington are  living  upon  assured  incomes  from  the  govern- 
ment. To  those  who  read  the  exaggerated  reports  of  the 
easy  work  and  big  salaries  of  employees  of  the  government, 
it  seems  that  they  are  to  be  envied  their  positions.  •  There 
may  have  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  country 
when  incapable  and  unscrupulous  men,  through  influence  of 
their  party  chiefs,  occupied  more  of  these  positions  than 
they  should.  But  since  the  establishment  of  the  Civil  Ser- 
vice this  is  not  the  case.  There  are  few  to-day  who  do  not 
earn  every  cent  they  receive,  and  who,  manage  as  econom- 
ically as  they  will,  find  it  difficult  to  do  more  than  provide 
a  home  and  a  living  for  their  families. 

Of  the  80,000  negroes  in  the  city  quite  a  large  proportion 
also  derive  their  income  from  the  government,  and  a  large 
part  of  the  remainder  derive  theirs  from  those  who  serve 
the  government.  Thus,  in  the  last  analysis,  the  government 
is  providing  for  nearly  all  the  people.  The  exceptions  are 
the  visitors  who  are  always  in  evidence  and  always  mingling 
with  the  passing  throng.  These  are  usually  the  well-to-do, 
though  their  dress  and  bearing  often  suggest  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  rural  life.  When  all  these  classes  are 
mingling  in  the  streets  the  general  effect  is  one  of  a  holiday 
pleasure  parade. 

The  proprietors  of  small  stores,  and  those  who  keep 


520  TYPES  FROM   ALL  POINTS  OF  THE  COMPASS. 

boarding  houses,  hotels,  saloons,  livery  stables,  and  so  on, 
prove  no  great  exception  to  the  rule.  Small  stores  line 
many  streets.  Many  of  them  are  owned  by  Southern  peo- 
ple, who  have  a  constitutional  objection  to  becoming  excited 
over  trade.  In  recent  years  hustling  men  from  the  North 
have  entered  into  competition  with  them,  and  show  an 
activity  and  a  rivalry  which  is  out  of  tune  with  the 
general  harmony  of  things.  Such  influences  as  these  are 
undoubtedly  transforming  the  business  life  of  Washington 
so  that  it  shows  less  and  less  of  those  peculiar  character- 
istics which  for  so  many  years  made  it  a  distinctively 
Southern  city. 

The  Southern  women  maintain  their  strong  hold  upon 
the  boarding  houses,  whose  numbers  are  legion.  Many  ot 
them  are  cultured  women  of  proud  extraction,  daughters  or 
descendants  of  old  families  ruined  by  the  Civil  War,  and 
charming  conversation  prevails  at  their  tables.  On  the 
streets  Southern  men  are  distinguished  more  readily  than 
the  men  from  other  sections.  Broad-brimmed  felt  hats  are 
their  distinctive  badge,  and  if  they  aspire  to  greater  con- 
spicuousness  they  also  affect  Prince  Albert  coats,  though 
often  a  little  slouchy  and  somewhat  worn.  They  add  their 
share  to  the  spicy  flavor  of  Washington  life. 

But  the  predominating  type  is  that  of  the  Westerner. 
He  affects  nothing,  but  is  usually  just  an  earnest,  self-con- 
tained person,  quite  apt  to  have  a  sharp  eye  and  a  long 
beard  or  heavy  moustache.  There  is  a  natural  swing  and  a 
dash  to  the  Western  element  which  promises  to  become  the 
dominating  characteristic  of  the  nation.  Their  great  states 
now  make  up  most  of  the  Union,  and  thus  in  official  and 
social  life  the  Western  men  and  the  Western  women  are  be- 
coming controlling  influences.  The  New  Yorker  who  has 
become  accustomed  to  the  doctrine  that  his  habitat  is  the 
center  of  everything,  finds  himself  here  an  inconsiderable 
element,  and  the  New  Englander  discovers,  sometimes  with 


THE  OMNIPRESENT  NEGRO.  521 

dismay,  that  the  tide  of  national  life  sweeps  on  utterly  re- 
gardless of  Boston.  Yet  the  claims  of  each  in  contributing 
to  the  greatness  of  the  nation  are  fully  recognized. 

But  no  matter  where  or  when  the  scene  may  be  in 
Washington,  the  ubiquitous  negro  colors  it.  Whether  the 
humblest  white  man  wishes  to  move  his  trunk  from  one 
boarding  house  to  another,  or  whether  the  President  wishes 
a  state  dinner,  the  darky  is  indispensable.  If  you  call  on 
the  President  you  first  encounter  a  well-dressed  and  intelli- 
gent-looking colored  man  who  has  been  on  duty  in  the 
White  House  since  Lincoln's  time.  If  you  call  upon  any  of 
the  officials  at  the  departments,  a  polite  colored  man  re- 
ceives your  card  and  looks  at  it  carefully  before  he  takes  it 
in.  It  is  so  everywhere. 

The  colored  population  may  be  divided  generally  into 
two  classes.  The  first  is  made  up  of  the  elegant  and  ambi- 
tious who  call  themselves  ''colored  people,"  though  some 
are  quite  white;  and  the  other  of  the  lazy,  happy,  easy- 
going work-folk  and  loafers,  "out  at  elbow,  loose  all  over, 
and  content  whenever  the  sun  shines  on  them." 

Washington  has  a  genteel  colored  society  of  its  own. 
But  no  matter  to  what  degree  of  affluence,  education,  or 
culture  a  colored  man  may  rise,  neither  he  nor  his  family 
have  any  social  relations  with  white  people.  Some  of  these 
men  and  women  have  so  little  trace  of  African  descent  in 
their  blood  that  they  would  readily  pass  as  white  people  in 
any  Northern  city ;  but  in  the  South  generally  they  are  as 
clearly  ostracised  as  if  they  were  coal-black.  Nowhere  but 
in  Washington  is  this  educated,  well-to-do,  light-colored 
class  so  numerous  that  it  can  form  a  society  in  distinction 
from  the  shiftless  negroes.  Even  here  the  better  class  does 
not  hold  itself  exclusive  of  the  less  fortunate,  except  in 
purely  social  relations,  and  exactly  as  the  exclusive  society 
set  of  white  people  of  any  large  city  would  maintain  itself 
towards  the  class  not  in  "  society." 


522          COLORED   SOCIETY,   SCHOOLS  AND  CHURCHES. 

The  colored  people  in  Washington  have  their  editors, 
their  university  with  its  colored  professors,  so  excellent  in 
many  of  its  departments  that  it  is  attended  by  white  stu- 
dents ;  they  have  their  great  schools  with  colored  teachers 
in  every  district;  they  have  their  doctors,  dentists,  clubs, 
saloons,  summer  resorts,  river  steamers,  and  churches. 
There  are  in  this  class  people  who  are  living  on  their  in- 
comes, people  who  have  acquired  wealth  either  here  or  else- 
where; if  elsewhere  they  have  come  here  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  colored  society  such  as  is  found  nowhere  else. 
They  receive  no  social  recognition  from  the  whites,  but  with 
a  society  of  their  own  that  does  not  matter. 

This  class  can  best  be  seen  of  a  Sunday  at  one  of  their 
two  or  three  churches.  It  should  be  understood  that  it  is 
small  compared  with  the  "  common  negro,"  and  while  there 
are  many  colored  churches  in  the  city  with  enormous  mem- 
berships and  an  unwavering  attendance,  the  upper-set 
churches  do  not  number  over  three,  and  the  membership  is 
not  large.  The  quality,  however,  is  unmistakable.  The 
people  dress,  look,  and  behave  precisely  like  well-bred  white 
people,  only  their  color  shades  from  almost  white  to  dusky 
black.  Well-dressed  men  with  fashionably-trimmed  beards, 
and  stylish  women  with  lorgnettes  occupy  the  pews.  Some 
of  these  women,  just  a  shade  off  the  white,  are  among  the 
handsomest  in  the  city. 

At  the  church  doors  elegantly-dressed  young  colored  men 
wait  on  the  sidewalks  for  sweethearts,  or  drive  up  in  car- 
riages and  traps.  There  is  an  air  of  refinement  in  this 
church,  which  is  often  tastefully  decked  with  flowers,  fur- 
nished with  the  softest  of  carpets,  attended  by  polite  ushers, 
and  presided  over  by  a  clergyman  who  is  generally  a  gradu- 
ate from  one  of  the  great  universities,  and  whose  eloquence 
has  nothing  in  common  with  the  ranting,  rambling  talk 
which  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  colored  churches  a  few 
blocks  away. 


MUSIC  IN  THE  AIR.  523 

But  whether  attending  one  of  these  refined  colored 
churches  or  one  of  the  much  more  numerous  of  the  other 
class,  one  will  always  find  good  music.  There  is  a  natural 
richness  of  quality  in  negro  voices,  a  harmonious  blending 
which  is  melodious  to  the  ears  and  which  at  one  time  made 
the  "  Jubilee  Singers  "  so  popular. 

In  every  walk  of  life  the  negro  is  a  musician  at  heart. 
The  tatterdemalion,  happy-go-lucky  negro  is  always  singing 
when  not  laughing  or  whistling.  Should  you  come  across  a 
hundred  negroes  opening  a  trench  in  the  city  streets,  you 
may  be  sure  that  half  a  dozen  good  quartettes  could  be 
chosen  from  among  them  whose  voices  would  delight  you. 
There  is  a  clear  permeating  richness  even  in  the  voice  of  the 
n^gro  huckster ;  it  fills  the  street  and  pours  in  at  the  win- 
dows. Nearer  and  nearer  it  comes,  and  finally  a  slouchy- 
looking  negro  appears,  seated  high  up  on  a  wagon  full  of 
watermelons,  singing : 

"  Red  to  de  rine,  and  de  rine  red  too, 
Better  buy  a  watermillion  while  I's  gwine  thro'." 

At  night  the  streets,  especially  adjacent  to  colored  settle- 
ments, are  full  of  laughter,  singing,  and  whistling.  There  is 
a  bird-like  clearness  and  versatility  in  a  negro's  whistling, 
and  he  can  pour  out  any  of  the  popular  airs  of  the  day  with 
astonishing  variations.  You  can  no  more  deprive  a  negro  of 
his  whistle  than  of  his  laughter  or  the  hue  of  his  skin. 

"While  the  colored  population  is  gradually  being  collected 
into  settlements  of  their  own  in  various  portions  of  the  city, 
as  yet  the  negro  and  the  white  man  frequently  live  side  by 
side.  Some  of  the  finest  mansions  of  the  wealthy  are  less 
than  a  block  from  negro  shanties,  and  this  is  one  explanation 
of  the  wealth  of  so  many  colored  families.  They  have 
made  money  in  real  estate  in  spite  of  themselves.  Forty 
years  ago  a  large  part  of  the  fashionable  Northwest  was  oc- 
cupied by  tumble-down  shanties  of  negro  owners,  but,  when 


524  THE  EASTER  EGG-ROLLING. 

the  era  of  public  improvements  came,  the  land  became  more 
and  more  valuable,  and  gradually  the  shanties  gave  way  to 
fine  mansions.  Still  on  many  streets  the  mansion  and  the 
shanty  yet  stand  side  by  side. 

A  certain  portion  of  the  lowest  class  of  negroes  is 
always  making  trouble.  "Bad  niggers"  abound.  They 
constitute  the  business  of  the  police  courts  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  inmates  of  the  jail  and  penitentiary.  But 
there  is  a  steady  improvement  under  the  influence  of  the 
schools  and  the  churches,  and  especially  under  better  family 
regulations.  Up  to  a  few  years  ago  the  civil  law  required 
nothing  of  them  so  far  as  marriage  was  concerned.  Now 
the  marriage  license  is  required,  and  family  life  is  upon  a 
surer  basis.  Thus,  little  by  little,  the  race  problem  is  beiag 
worked  out,  and  the  negro  does  'not  lack  encouragement 
so  long  as  he  makes  no  effort  to  "run  things." 

It  is  useless  to  deny  the  fact  that  the  white  people  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  do  not  wish  a  political  franchise.  They 
would  much  prefer  that  Congress  should  govern  the  District, 
even  if  it  is  not  always  with  justice.  They  decline  to  sub- 
ject themselves  to  the  dangers  of  the  vote  of  so  large  a  col- 
ored element  in  municipal  elections.  It  does  not  take  long 
for  the  Northerner  who  settles  here  to  become  used  to  this 
way  of  thinking. 

The  streets  of  "Washington  with  their  smooth  asphalt 
pavements,  their  overhanging  foliage  and  pretty  little 
squares  make  a  paradise  for  children.  On  bright  afternoons 
the  squares  are  full  of  nurses  and  their  little  charges,  who 
toddle  about  the  shady  walks  and  tumble  over  the  grass. 
Their  great  annual  fete  is  Easter  Monday,  when  occurs  the 
"  egg-rolling"  on  the  White  House  grounds.  Such  an  arm/ 
of  children  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  and  of  various  shades 
of  color  can  never  be  seen  elsewhere.  It  is  one  of  the 
unique  spectacles  of  the  Capital,  when  the  south  grounds  of 
the  President's  house  are  wholly  given  over  to  the  laughing, 


AT   THE   GREAT   CENTRAL   MARKET.  525 

romping  little  folks,  —  hundreds  of  daintily-dressed  white 
children  and  laughing  pickaninnies  mixed  up  together. 

On  certain  mornings  and  afternoons  of  the  week  the 
market  basket  is  omnipresent.  "Women  with  market  baskets 
fill  the  street  cars  and  the  sidewalks  ;  elegant  carriages  with 
market  baskets  at  the  feet  of  fair  occupants  roll  along  the 
avenues ;  negroes  carrying  huge  baskets  follow  portly 
women  who  are  the  keepers  of  boarding  houses,  and  the 
Mecca  of  all  is  the  great  Central  Market  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue.  This  market  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  sights 
of  the  Capital.  The  immense  building  covers  two  squares. 
Long  passage-ways  lined  with  stalls  intersect  each  other  and 
are  densely  packed  with  men  and  women  carrying  baskets. 
Turkeys,  chickens,  beef  and  mutton,  rabbits  and  game,  birds, 
oysters  and  turtles,  masses  of  butter  and  cheese,  cakes,  pies, 
candies,  flowers,  everything  in  its  season  to  make  the  table 
complete,  cover  the  counters  and  dangle  overhead.  Fish 
from  the  Chesapeake,  the  Potomac,  and  the  Maryland 
streams  fill  the  stalls  of  one  long  passage-way,  while  pickles 
and  preserves  rise  in  huge  pyramids  from  various  points. 

People  of  all  walks  of  life  jostle  each  other  in  the  pas- 
sage-ways. Senators'  wives,  and  boarding  house  keepers, 
negro  "mammies"  and  maids  go  about  with  their  baskets 
from  stall  to  stall ;  while  chickens  and  cabbages,  celery  and 
sausages,  and  every  other  conceivable  edible  fill  their  baskets 
and  fall  over  the  edges.  Every  sunshiny  day  men  whose 
names  are  known  and  honored  throughout  the  world  may 
be  seen  trudging  toward  the  market  in  the  dignified  pursuit 
of  exercise  and  dinner.  Here,  of  old,  w^ere  seen  the  forms 
of  illustrious  statesmen  and  heroes  now  departed,  and  scores 
of  men  and  women  whose  names  are  household  words. 
Chief  Justice  Marshall,  Daniel  Webster,  and  President  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  Attorney-General  Holt,  William 
Walter  Phelps,  and  scores  of  other  famous  men  were  wont 
to  come  here  in  person  to  do  their  marketing. 


526  THE  MARKET-BASKET  PROCESSION. 

But  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene  is  not  confined  to 
the  stalls  inside.  Here  in  the  early  morning  hours,  in  the 
open-air  market  behind  it,  along  the  railings  of  the  Smith- 
sonian grounds,  the  gaunt  farmers  of  the  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land hills  stand  beside  their  ramshackle  wagons,  or  hover 
over  little  fires  to  keep  warm,  and  quaint  old  darkies  offer 
for  sale  old-fashioned  flowers  and  "yarbs,"  live  chickens, 
fresh-laid  eggs,  and  vegetables  or  fruit  from  their  tiny  subur- 
ban fields,  while  smoking  cob  pipes  and  crooning  wordless 
melodies,  just  as  they  used  to  do  in  the  days  "  befo'  de  wa'." 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  that  people  so  universally 
take  their  baskets  with  them  when  marketing.  They  might 
save  themselves  so  much  trouble  by  having  their  purchases 
delivered.  But  the  conditions  are  such  that  the  baskets  are 
a  necessity.  In  the  first  place  a  large  portion  of  the  people 
never  think  of  making  purchases  for  a  meal  till  a  perilously 
short  time  before  it  is  to  be  served.  There  is  one  quality 
about  people  of  Southern  extraction  which  is  conducive  to 
their  long  lives, —  they  never  cross  bridges  till  they  come  to 
them.  The  result  is  a  general  crush  of  marketing  at  certain 
hours  of  the  day,  and  it  would  be  a  commercial  impossibility 
for  marketmen  to  provide  a  delivery  system  sufficient  to 
cope  with  the  problem  of  delivering  purchases  in  time  for 
preparation. 

Furthermore,  the  Southern  merchant  is  never  given  to 
putting  himself  out  by  delivering  things  promptly  or  when 
he  says  he  will.  When  they  say  noon  in  New  'York 
it  generally  means  a  little  before ;  when  they  say  noon  in 
"Washington  it  always  means  from  one  to  four  hours  later. 
It  is  a  general  habit  which  all  the  people  have,  and  which 
Northerners  or  Westerners  who  settle  here  usually  contract 
sooner  or  later.  This  is  the  real  secret  of  the  omnipresent 
market  basket  at  certain  hours  of  the  day.  After  all  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  housekeeper  obtains  her  edibles 
fresher  than  she  could  without  the  basket,  and  cheaper,  be- 
cause she -buys  them  herself  and  carries  them  homo  herself. 


CHAPTEE  XXXYII. 

BEAUTIFUL  AND  SACRED  ARLINGTON -ITS  ROMANCE  AND 

ITS  HISTORY  — THE  SILENT  CITY  OF  THE  NATION'S 

DEAD  — THE  SOLDIER'S  HOME. 

Where  Peace  and  Silence  Reign  — "The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead"  — The 
Story  of  Arlington  — The  Graves  of  Nearly  17,000  Soldiers  — How 
George  Washington  Managed  the  Property — How  General  Robert  E. 
Lee  Inherited  the  Estate  —  The  Gathering  'Clouds  of  Civil  War  —  A 
Sad  Parting  —  Leaving  Arlington  Forever  —  Approach  of  the  Union 
Troops  —  Flight  of  Mrs.  Lee  and  Her  Children  ^-  Her  Pathetic  Return 
to  the  Old  Home  After  the  War  —  The  Graves  of  Distinguished 
Officers  —  The  Tomb  to  the  Unknown  Dead  —  One  Grave  for  Over 
2,000  Unknown  Soldiers  —  A  Touching  Inscription  —  The  Graves  of 
600  Soldiers  of  the  Spanish- American  War —  Where  the  Dead  of  the 
Battleship  Maine  Are  Buried  —  Memorial  Day  at  Arlington  —  Where 
Forty  Soldiers  Lie  Alone  —  A  Touching  Incident  —  Thinking  of  the 
Dim  Past  —  The  Tomb  of  General  Logan. 

> 

[ET  us  leave  the  City  of  the  Living,  a  city  wherein 
the  passions  of  political  and  social  ambition  are 
ever  at  strife ;  wherein,  even  amid  so  many 
beautiful  sights  and  so  many  revelations  of  a 
nation's  greatness,  rivalries,  jealousies,  and  iniquities 
rudely  jar  the  feelings  as  everywhere  in  life ;  let  us 
leave  the  statesmen  talking  —  always  talking  —  at  the  Cap- 
itol, the  thousands  of  busy  men  and  women  at  their  work, 
the  thousands  who  are  seeking  place,  preferment,  favors, 
legislation ;  let  us  cross  the  Potomac  and  enter  Arlingtcm, 
the  silent  City  of  the  Nation's  Dead.  Over  the  great  white 
buildings  we  are  leaving  behind  float  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
and  high  above  the  dense  foliage  of  the  trees  in  yonder 
cemetery  waves  as  proudly  the  same  glorious  banner.  Back 

(527) 


528  THE  RESTING-PLACE  OF  HEROES. 

in  the  City  of  the  Living,  doubtless,  there  are  heroes  who 
may  never  be  known,  but  under  this  flag  waving  protect- 
ingly  above  Arlington  are  heroes  all.  They  fought  for 
those  floating  colors.  They  died  "  that  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from 
the  earth." 

Entering  the  cemetery  through  either  one  of  several 
beautiful  memorial  gates,  we  follow  a  shady  and  winding 
roadway  under  the  interlacing  branches  of  mighty  oaks. 
Here  lie  the  remains  of  nearly  17,000  soldiers  who  died  that 
the  Nation  might  live.  Except  for  the  gentle  fluttering  of 
leaves  and  the  singing  of  birds,  the  silence  of  death  fills 
these  grounds.  On  one  side  stand  massive  monuments  to 
the  illustrious  dead,  famous  officers  of  our  wars,  while  on 
the  other,  stretching  away  over  the  level  ground,  sprinkled 
with  sunshine  filtered  through  the  foliage,  are  thousands  of 
headstones,  each  marking  a  grave  in  which  a  soldier  sleeps. 

The  stones  are  set  in  rows,  uniform  in  distance  one  from 
the  other,  arrayed  in  order  and  marshaled  as  battalions  for 
review.  They  bear  no  inscriptions  —  only  numbers  and 
names — but  one  story  is  the  story  of  all,  and  it  is  told  as 
we  pass  along  the  walks  on  the  borders  of  which  are  iron 
tablets  bearing  lines  selected  from  Col.  Theodore  O'Hara's 
eloquent  poem :  —  "  The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead/' 

"  The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo ; 
No  more  on  Life's  parade  shall  meet 

That  brave  and  fallen  few. 
On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 
,  Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 

And  Glory  guards,  with  solemn  round, 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 

"  No  rumor  of  the  foe's  advance 
Now  swells  upon  the  wind  ; 
No  troubled  thought  at  midnight  haunts 
Of  loved  ones  left  behind ; 


L    :  : 

5gg2 

_  r  ?  - 
=  ~— ^ 


531 

/ 

No  vision  of  the  morrow's  strife 

The  warrior's  dream  alarms  ; 
No  braying  horn  nor  screaming  fife 

At  dawn  shall  call  to  arms. 

"  The  neighing  troop,  the  flashing  blade, 

The  bugle's  stirring  blast, 
The  charge,  the  dreadful  cannonade, 

The  din  and  shout  are  past ; 
Nor  war's  wild  note,  nor  glory's  peal, 

Shall  thrill  with  fierce  delight 
Those  breasts  that  never  more  may  feel 

The  rapture  of  the  fight. 

"  Sons  of  the  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground, 

Ye  must  not  slumber  there, 
Where  stranger  steps  and  tongues  resound 

Along  the  heedless  air. 
Your  own  proud  land's  heroic  soil 

Shall  be  your  fitter  grave  ; 
She  claims  from  War  his  richest  spoil  — 

The  ashes  of  her  brave. 

"Thus  'neath  their  parent  turf  they  rest, 

Far  from  the  gory  field, 
Borne  to  a  Spartan  mother's  breast 

On  many  a  bloody  shield  ; 
The  sunshine  of  their  native  sky 

Smiles  sadly  on  them  here, 
And  kindred  eyes  and  hearts  watch  by 

The  heroes'  sepulcher. 

"  Rest  on,  embalmed  and  sainted  dead, 

Dear  as  the  blood  yc  gave, 
No  impious  footsteps  here  shall  tread 

The  herbage  of  your  grave  ; 
Nor  shall  your  glory  be  forgot 

While  Fame  her  record  keeps, 
Or  Honor  points  the  hallowed  spot 

Where  Valor  proudly  sleeps." 

Arlington,  as  an  ante-bellum  estate,  was  in  a  peculiarly- 
intimate  manner  identified  with  the  history  of  the  founding 


532  HISTORY  AND  ROMANCE  OF  ARLINGTON. 

of  the  Union,  and  after  the  Civil  War  it  was  fittingly 
chosen  as  one  of  the  great  national  burial-places  of  those 
who  died  for  the  preservation  of  that  Union.  The  family 
of  John  Custis,  who  purchased  this  property  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  colony  of 
Virginia.  He  was  very  wealthy  for  those  days,  proud 
withal,  and  much  vexed  when  his  high-spirited  son,  Daniel 
Parke  Custis,  persisted  in  falling  in  love  with  Martha  Dan- 
dridge  of  Williamsburg,  instead  of  with  an  heiress  whom 
he  desired  him  to  marry.  But  Martha  met  the  elder  Custis 
at  a  social  gathering  and  so  captivated  him  that  he  offered 
no  further  objections.  When  the  old  gentleman  died,  this 
son  and  his  wife  came  into  possession  of  the  Arlington 
estate,  and  there  the  husband  soon  died,  leaving  it  to 
Martha,  a  young  widow  with  two  children. 

In  due  time  the  rich  and  handsome  widow  re-entered 
society  and  became  acquainted  with  a  young  colonial  Colo- 
nel who  lived  with  his  mother  at  Mount  Yernon  farther 
down  the  river,  and  whose  name  was  George  Washington. 
He  wooed  and  won  Martha  Custis,  and,  with  her  two 
children,  they  went  to  live  at  Mount  Yernon,  but  managed 
also  the  Arlington  property.  One  of  the  children,  Martha 
Parke  Custis,  died,  but  the  son,  John  Parke  Custis,  grew  to 
manhood  and  inherited  the  Arlington  estate.  He  died  in 
1781,  after  serving  upon  his  stepfather's  staff  during  the 
latter  portion  of  the  Kevolution,  and  his  two  infant  children 
were  adopted  by  Washington  and  by  him  were  deeply 
loved.  Elinor,  or  "  Nelly,"  Custis,  who  grew  up  with  an 
inheritance  of  her  grandmother's  beauty,  married  Major 
Lewis,  a  Virginian,  and  her  brother,  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis,  upon  reaching  his  majority,  inherited  Arling- 
ton and  began  the  erection  of  the  mansion  that  for  over  a 
century  has  stood  on  the  Virginia  bank  of  the  river.  Mr. 
Custis  married  Mary  Lee  Fitzhugh,  one  of  the  Kandolphs, 
and  of  four  children  only  one  survived,  a  daughter  Mary. 


THE   GATHERING   CLOUDS  OF  CIVIL  WAR.  533 

The  Custis  family  lived  at  their  stately  mansion  for  many 
years,  improving  and  beautifying  it  and  entertaining  hand- 
somely, until  the  death  of  Mr.  Custis,  the  last  male  of  his 
family,  in  1857. 

"  From  early  boyhood  Kobert  E.  Lee  was  a  welcome 
visitor  to  .this  happy  home,  and  together  he  and  Mary  Custis 
grew  to  maturity.  They  were  distantly  related,  and  seem 
to  have  been  singularly  suited  to  one  another.  Among  their 
other  youthful  pastimes  was  the  planting  of  the  noble  ave- 
nue of  trees  to  the  right  of  Arlington.  Kobert  became  a 
cadet  at  West  Point,  and  as  time  passed  on  their  attachment 
to  one  another  deepened. 

"They  were  married  in  1831,  two  years  after  he  had 
graduated  at  West  Point,  the  ceremony  being  performed  in 
the  room  to  the  right  of  the  hall  of  the  mansion. 

"  Here  they  lived  for  thirty  years.  Their  children  were 
all  born  here,  and  Colonel  Lee's  life  of  active  military 
duties  alternated  with  periods  of  quiet  retirement  at  home. 

"  The  gathering  clouds  of  Civil  War  made  it  necessary 
for  him  to  decide  upon  his  course,  and,  after  long  and  sad 
deliberation,  he  declared  that  his  duty  lay  with  his  native 
State.  So,  resigning  his  commission  as  colonel  of  the  First 
Eegiment  of  Cavalry  in  the  United  States  Army,  on  April 
20,  1861,  he  was  appointed  Major-General  and  Commander 
of  the  Confederate  forces  of  Virginia  four  days  later,  and 
left  his  wife  and  children  at  Arlington  to  take  command  of 
his  new  troops." 

He  went  to  become  the  great  military  leader  of  the 
Eebellion,  and  doubtless  he  expected  some  day  to  return,  for 
he  took  away  none  of  the  furniture  and  few  of  the  great 
number  of  priceless  relics  of  Washington.  The  government 
seized  everything  of  historical  value,  and  most  of  such  arti- 
cles are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  National  Museum.  When  the 
Federal  troops  took  possession  they  converted  the  mansion 

into  a  headquarters  and  the  grounds  into  a  camp,  and  the 
80 


534     HOW  ARLINGTON  BECAME  A  NATIONAL  CEMETERY. 

level  plateaus  and  grassy  slopes  of  Arlington  were  devoted 
to  the  purposes  of  a  military  cemetery. 

"Upon  the  approach  of  the  Union  troops."  says  Mr. 
Bengough,  "Mrs.  Lee  was  compelled  to  leave  at  last  the 
home  made  sacred  by  all  the  tender  associations  of  life. 
The  home  of  her  ancestors,  made  glorious  by  the  memory 
of  Washington,  the  fair  spot  where  she  first  looked  out  upon 
the  world,  the  scene  of  her  childhood's  happy  days,  of  her 
early  love  and  marriage,  the  birthplace  of  all  her  children 
and  their  home  through  their  years  of  growth  to  maturity, 
the  treasury  of  all  the  rich  collection  of  relics  of  Washington 
and  her  parents ;  all  were  torn  away  from  her,  and  forever. 
Once  only,  some  years  afterwards,  when  enfeebled  by  illness, 
she  came  back  to  visit  the  old  home,  but  the  transformation 
affected  her  so  that  she  could  not  stay,  but  asked  that  they 
should  let  her  '  get  a  drink  of  water  from  the  spring,'  and 
then  take  her  away.  She  had  always  said  that  she  could 
not  die  in  peace  away  from  Arlington,  and  in  her  last  hours 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  she  fancied  herself  back  again, 
with  her  little  children,  wandering  amid  the  scenes  so  fondly 
loved  of  old." 

The  Federal  authorities  took  possession  of  Arlington  for 
military  uses,  and  held  it  under  that  eminent  title  until  Jan- 
uary 11,  1864,  when  it  was  put  up  at  public  sale  for  unpaid 
taxes  ($92.07)  and  was  bought  by  the  government  for 
$26,800.  Mrs.  Kobert  E.  Lee,  the  life  tenant,  died  in  18Y3. 
Four  years  later,  her  eldest  child,  George  Washington  Custis 
Lee,  who  inherited  the  title  to  the  estate,  brought  a  suit  in 
ejectment  and  successfully  contested  the  legality  of  the  title 
of  the  government  under  the  tax  sale ;  but  was  barred  in  the 
Supreme  Court.  In  recognition,  however,  of  his  equitable 
claim,  Congress  appropriated  (March  3,  1883)  the  sum  of 
$150,000  for  the  purchase  of  the  estate,  and  Mr.  Lee  con- 
veyed by  deed  to  the  United  States  all  his  rights  therein. 
Such  is  the  history  and  the  romance  of  Arlington. 


MONUMENT  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  DEAD. 


535 


The  view  from  the  porch  of  the  old  mansion  is  one  of  the 
fairest.  A  half-mile  away  and  two  hundred  feet  below  flows 
the  placid  Potomac,  and  beyond  lies  Washington.  If  you 
would  catch  the  beauties  of  the  scene  at  their  best,  stand 
here  of  a  quiet  evening,  while  yet  the  river  is  shimmering  in 
the  sunset,  and  above  the  soft  mists  rise  the  great  dome  of 
the  Capitol  and  the  massive  white  shaft  of  the  monument. 
If,  as  tradition  says,  Washington  one  day  selected  this  nook 
in  the  valley  of  the  Potomac  for  the  seat  of  the  future  Capi- 
tal of  the  nation,  we  may  well  suppose  that  it  may  have  been 


REPOSE  THE  J 


BENEATH   THIS    STONE 
OF  TWO  THOUSAND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  ELEVEN  UNKNOWN  SOU 

GATHERED  AFTER  THE  WAR 

FROM  THE  FIELDS  OF  BULL  RUN,  AND  THE  ROUTE  ?0  THE  RAPPAHANNOCK, 

THEIR  REMAINS  COULD  NOT  BE  IDENTIFIED,  BUT  THEIR  NAMES  AND  DEAfHS  ARE 

RECORDED  IN  THE  ARCHIVES  OF  THEIR  COUNTRY;  A&D  ITS  GRATEFUL  CITIZENS 

HONOR  THEM  AS  OF  THEIR  NOBLE    RMY  OF  MARTYRS.MAY  THEY  REST  IN  PEACE 


FACE  OP  MONUMENT  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  DEAD  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

at  a  time  when  he  stood  upon  this  plateau  above  the  river 
and  whispered  his  love  into  the  ears  of  Martha  Custis.  It  is 
in  such  hours,  when  the  heart  is  young,  and  hope  and  ambi- 
tion are  strong,  that  inspiration  comes. 

Near  the  Temple  of  Fame,  on  whose  columns  are 
engraved  the  names  of  distinguished  American  soldiers, 
stands  the  massive  granite  sarcophagus  sacred  to  the 
memory  of  the  unknown  dead  of  the  Civil  War.  The  bones 
of  over  2,000  unknown  soldiers,  gathered  after  the  war 
from  the  battle-fields  of  Bull  Run  and  thence  to  the 
Eappahannock,  lie  here  in  one  grave.  The  simple  story  is 
told  in  the  letters  chiseled  on  the  granite  face  of  the 
monument. 


536  THE  DEAD  FROM  DISTANT  BATTLE-FIELDS. 

On  the  brow  of  the  bluff  near  the  old  mansion  are  buried 
many  officers  of  distinction.  A  great  memorial  stone  marks 
the- resting-place  of  General  Sheridan,  and  others  as  conspicu- 
ous indicate  the  graves  of  Admirals  Porter,  Rogers,  and 
Ammen,  and  Generals  Rawlins,  Crook,  Doubleday,  Meigs, 
Ricketts,  Lawton,  Henry,  and  others. 

Stones  worn  with  age  mark  the  graves  of  eleven  Revolu- 
tionary officers.  In  accordance  with  a  privilege  given  to  the 
wives  and  daughters  of  soldiers  buried  at  Arlington,  many 
a  woman's  grave  is  here  beside  that  of  the  husband  or  the 
father. 

In  a  new  section  of  the  cemetery,  half  a  mile  to  the 
south  of  the  officers'  burial-field,  are  the  graves  of  600  sol- 
diers who  were  killed  or  died  of  disease  in  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico  during  the  war  with  Spain,  and  whose  remains  were 
brought  by  a  grateful  country  from  the  distant  battle-fields 
and  camps  and  reinterred  with  military  honors  at  Arlington, 
Congress  having  appropriated  $300,000  for  this  purpose. 

"  It  is  fitting  that  in  behalf  of  the  Nation,"  said 
President  McKinley  in  his  Executive  Order  relating  to 
the  reinterment  of  these  soldiers,  "tributes  of  honor  be 
paid  to  the  memories  of  the  noble  men  who  lost  their 
lives  in  their  country's  service,  during  the  late  war  with 
Spain.  It  is  the  more  fitting,  inasmuch  as,  in  consonance 
with  the  spirit  of  our  free  institutions  and  in  obedience 
to  the  most  exalted  promptings  of  patriotism,  those  who 
were  sent  to  other  shores  to  do  battle  for  their  country's 
honor  under  their  country's  flag  went  freely  from  every 
quarter  of  our  beloved  land.  Each  soldier,  each  sailor, 
parting  from  home  ties  and  putting  behind  him  private 
interests  in  the  presence  of  the  stern  emergency  of  un- 
sought war  with  an  alien  foe,  was  an  individual  type  of 
that  devotion  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  which  makes 
our  Nation  strong  in  unity  and  in  action." 

The  memorial  to  the  victims  of  the  Maine  is  a  giant 


539 

anchor.  It  is  an  anchor  with  a  history,  though  much  of 
that  history  is  not  known.  The  anchor  is  of  ancient  style 
and  rough  workmanship,  having  been  wrought  by  hand 
from  a  huge  piece  of  iron  It  has  an  enormous  wooden 
cross-bar,  honeycombed  by  time  and  the  elements.  This 
cross-bar,  even  when  the  anchor  is  lying  at  an  angle,  reaches 
over  six  feet  in  the  air,  and,  silhouetted  against  the  sky,  can 
be  seen  from  the  river.  The  whole  has  been  painted  a  dead 
black  to  preserve  it  from  further  decay. 

The  anchor  rests  upon  a  large  concrete  base  in  the  natu- 
ral position  of  such  a  device  when  reposing  on  the  land,  and 
the  whole  is  said  to  weigh  more  than  two  tons. 

On  a  huge  tablet  riveted  to  the  center  of  the  cross-bar  is 
inscribed : 

U.  S.  S.  MAINE. 

BLOWN  UP  FEBRUARY  FIFTEENTH,  1898. 
HERE  LIE  THE  REMAINS  OF  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY-THREE  MEN  OP 

"THE  MAINE'S"  CREW  BROUGHT  FROM  HAVANA,  CUBA, 
REINTERRED  AT  ARLINGTON,  DECEMBER  TWENTY-EIGHTH,  1899. 

The  anchor,  however,  is  not  the  only  object  that  marks 
the  graves  of  Captain  Sigsbee's  men.  At  each  side  of  this 
huge  iron  memorial  there  has  been  erected  a  brick  pier  and 
upon  each  of  these  is  placed  a  Spanish  mortar.  These  mor- 
tars were  taken  by  the  Americans  of  Dewey's  fleet  at  Cavite 
Arsenal,  Manila. 

In  one  part  of  tlie  grounds  there  is  a  sylvan  temple,  an 
amphitheater  formed  by  turfed  embankments  and  shaded 
with  trellises  of  vines.  Here  every  year  when  Arlington 
has  taken  on  its  springtime  beauty,  the  Memorial  Day 
services  are  held,  and  under  the  softest  of  skies  and  in 
serenest  airs  the  graves  of  our  dead  heroes  are  decorated 
with  flowers. 

Arlington  is  glorious  that  day.  No  words  could  be 
more  eloquent  than  those  which  are  spoken;  no  music  so 
tender  nor  more  full  of  precious  memories,  nor  sweeter  with 


540  BEAUTIFUL  AND  HOLY  ARLINGTON. 

suggestions  of  peace  and  rest,  than  that  sung  under  those 
patriarchal  trees  and  that  canopy  of  living  green.  And  no 
sight  could  be  more  touching  than  when  gray -haired  vet- 
erans reverently  lay  wreaths  and  scatter  the  flowers  of  May 
upon  the  graves  of  the  loyal  dead  who  sleep  their  eternal 
sleep  in  this  historic  ground. 

Not  far  away,  there  is  a  little  cemetery  where  forty 
soldiers  lie  alone.  They  fell  in  defense  of  Washington 
during  Early's  raid  in  July,  1864.  One  of  these  was  the 
son  of  a  poor  widow.  She  had  given  three  to  her  country, 
and  this  one  was  the  last.  Living  far  in  northern  Vermont, 
she  never  saw  the  graves  of  her  three  soldier-sons,  whom 
she  gave  up,  one  by  one,  as  they  came  to  man's  estate,  and 
who  went  forth  from  her  home  to  return  no  more. 

To  this  little  graveyard  on  a  Memorial  Day  one  woman 
went  alone  with  her  children,  carrying  forty  wreaths  of 
loveliest  flowers,  and  laid  one  on  every  grave.  Forty 
mothers'  sons  slept  under  the  green  turf ;  and  one  mother, 
in  her  large  love,  remembered  and  consecrated  them  all. 
She  chose  these  because,  with  so  many  others  in  the  larger 
cemeteries  to  be  decorated,  she  feared  the  forty,  in  their 
isolation,  might  be  forgotten. 

Look  again  on  Arlington  through  the  soft  spring  atmo- 
sphere. How  beautiful  it  is !  how  sad  it  is !  how  holy !  Again 
the  tender  spring  grasses  have  crept  over  its  thousands  of 
hallowed  graves.  The  innocents,  the  violets  of  the  woods, 
are  blooming  over  the  heads  of  our  brave.  Awe-inspiring 
silence  reigns  through  this  domain  of  the  dead.  There  is  a 
hush  in  the  air,  and  a  hush  in  the  heart,  as  we  walk  through 
it,  reading  its  names,  pausing  by  the  graves  of  its  "un- 
known," and  thinking  of  the  dim  past.  Far  as  the  sight 
reaches  stretch  the  low  green  mounds  that  mark  the  last 
resting-places  of  the  heroic  dead.  The  beauty  of  their 
sleeping-place,  the  reverent  care  for  it  everywhere  revealed, 
tells  how  dear  to  the  Nation's  heart  is  the  dust  of  its  heroes, 


AT  THE  SOLDIER'S  HOME.  541 

how  sacred  the  spot  where  they  lie.  Let  us  not  forget  the 
still  higher  love  which  we  owe  them ;  let  us  attest  it  by  a 
deeper  devotion  to  the  principles  for  which  they  died. 

Standing  on  the  bluff  at  Arlington  and  looking  across 
the  river  and  beyond  the  city,  we  see  rising  above  the  trees 
the  white  tower  of  the  Soldier's  Home.  Journeying  thither, 
we  find  ourselves  again  in  the  forest,  with  flowers  blooming 
and  ivy  climbing  over  walls  and  bridges,  and  squirrels  scam- 
pering along  the  winding  roadways  which  lead  to  the  great 
white  buildings.  Here  and  there  about  the  velvety  lawns 
are  old,  battle-scarred  veterans  basking  in  the  sun,  smoking 
their  pipes  and  fighting  their  battles  over  again.  About  tha 
many  acres,  more  than  a  hundred  of  which  are  in  culti- 
vation, are  many  places  where  one  can  stand  and  look  out 
over  a  wide  panorama  of  country,  the  river,  the  woodlands, 
the  city  itself. 

This  home  was  established  in  1851  by  the  efforts  of  Gen- 
eral Scott  out  of  certain  funds  received  from  confiscated 
property  during  the  War  with  Mexico,  as  a  retreat  for  vet- 
erans of  the  Mexican  War  and  for  men  of  the  regular  army 
who  may  be  disabled,  or  who,  by  twenty  years  of  honorable 
service  and  the  payment  of  twelve  and  one-half  cents  a 
month  during  service,  acquire  the  right  of  residence  here 
for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  The  veterans  thus  have  a 
sense  of  self-support,  and  if  they  have  no  other  income, 
those  who  are  able  to  do  anything  receive  forty  cents  per 
day  for  working  about  the  buildings  on  the  farm  and  the 
grounds.  There  are  usually  about  800  soldiers  here  living 
under  a  proper  discipline,  wearing  the  uniform  of  the  army. 
More  than  250  of  this  number  are  bed-ridden  invalids  in  the 
large  hospital  of  the  home,  where  they  receive  every  atten- 
tion, and  the  care  of  Regular  Army  surgeons  and  the  Hos- 
pital Corps. 

In  the  rear  of  the  home  on  a  wooded  slope  lies  another 
of  the  National  Military  Cemeteries,  entered  through  an 


542      THE  TOMB  OF  GENERAL  JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 

arch  upon  whose  pillars  are  inscribed  the  names  of  great 
Union  commanders  of  the  Civil  War.  In  this  cemetery  rest 
the  mortal  remains  of  about  5,000  Union  -  and  300  Confede- 
rate soldiers.  A  broad  avenue  runs  along  the  north  side  of 
the  enclosure,  leaving  a  space  between  the  fence  and  the 
avenue  where  a  number  of  officers  and  their  wives  are 
buried  —  General  and  Mrs.  Brice,  General  Hunt  and  General 
Kelton,  Lieutenant  Hunt  of  the  Greeley  expedition,  and 
others.  On  the  opposite  side  stands  the  beautiful  stone 
chapel  of  pure  Norman  architecture,  in  which  repose  the 
remains  of  General  John  A.  Logan,  the  greatest  volunteer 
commander  of  the  Civil  "War.  To  it  many  pilgrimages  are 
made  by  citizens  of  "Washington  and  the  legions  of  vis- 
itors. There  are  many  drives  through  the  grounds  of  the 
Soldier's  Home,  over  smooth  roadways  cut  through  the 
natural  forest,  ever  and  anon  bringing  us  to  some  open 
height  from  which  may  be  seen  a  charmingly-picturesque 
landscape,  and  always  the  beautiful  city  of  Washington. 


CHAPTEE  XXXYIII. 

A  DAY  AT  MOUNT  VERNON— AMID  THE  SCENES  OF 

GEORGE  AND  MARTHA  WASHINGTON'S  HOME 

LIFE— THEIR  LAST  RESTING-PLACE. 

The  Old  Mansion  at  Mount  Vernon  —  Its  Story  —  How  It  Was  Saved  for 
the  Nation  —  The  Married  Life  of  George  and  Martha  Washington  — 
His  Life  as  a  Farmer — His  Daily  Routine  —  His  Large  Force  of 
Workmen  and  Slaves  —  Out  of  Butter  —  Washington's  Devotion  to 
His  Wife  —  Ordering  Her  Clothes  —  A  Runaway  Cook  —  Looking  for 
a  Housekeeper — "Four  Dollars  at  Christmas  with  Which  To  Be 
Drunk  Four  Days  and  Four  Nights  "  —  His  Final  Illness  and  Death  — 
The  Bed  on  Which  He  Died  —  Dastardly  Attempt  To  Rob  His  Grave 

—  Death  of  Mrs.  Washington  —  The  Attic  Room  in  Which  She  Died 

—  What  Was  Found  in  the  Old  Vault  —  Removing  the  Remains  to 
the  New  Vault  —  Opening  the  Coffins— The  New  Tomb  — A  Tour 
Through  the  Mansion. 


IFTEEN  miles  farther  down  the  Potomac,  partly 
hidden  among  the  trees  which  almost  everywhere 
line  the  Virginia  shore,  is  Mount  Vernon,  the 
home  of  Washington.  The  mansion  is  older  and 
much  less  pretentious  than  that  at  Arlington.  It 
is  of  wood,  cut  and  painted  to  resemble  stone,  and  is 
surmounted  by  an  antique  weather-vane.  Its  venerable  and 
venerated  roof  sheltered  Washington  and  all  he  held  most 
dear,  from  youth  to  age,  and  here,  during  his  life,  the  great 
and  good  of  many  lands  always  found  an  open  hand  and 
generous  cheer.  Here,  amid  the  scenes  he  so  well  loved, 
his  mortal  remains  were  laid  to  rest,  and  a  little  later  those 
of  his  wife  were  laid  by  his  side. 

To  compare  with  the  many  elegant  memorials  in  stone 

(543) 


544  THE  TWO  TOMBS  AT  MOUNT  VERNON. 

which  mark  the  graves  of  thousands  of  heroes  at  Arlington, 
there  are  but  two  tombs,  one  very  old,  decayed,  moss- 
covered,  ivy-grown  and  empty ;  two  or  three  marble  shafts 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  members  of  the  Washington  family ; 
and  the  very  simple  brick  structure  built  in  the  side  of  an 
embankment.  The  front  has  trimmings  of  marble,  the 
entrance  being  protected  by  an  open  iron  grill.  Back  of 
this  grill  is  the  vestibule  of  the  tomb ;  within  which  stand 
two  sarcophagi  of  time-stained  marble.  Back  of  this  vesti- 
bule is  the  vault  in  which  years  ago  were  deposited  the 
bodies  of  George  and  Martha  Washington,  as  also  those  of 
two  or  three  other  members  of  the  family.  Solid  marble 
slabs  close  the  entrance,  the  keys  of  which  were  thrown  into 
the  Potomac  river  when  the  tomb  was  closed. 

Until  the  last  decade  the  only  way  Mount  Yernon  could 
be  reached  by  visitors  was  by  conveyance  from  Alexandria, 
or  by  the  little  steamer  which  still  plies  between  Washing- 
ton and  this  hallowed  spot.  Every  summer's  day  a  motley 
crowd  composed  of  the  young  and  old,  the  refined  and 
vulgar,  the  grave  and  gay,  fathers  and  mothers  with  children 
and  lunch  baskets,  and  pretty  girls  with  dignified  duennas, 
boarded  the  steamer  for  a  day's  outing  at  Mount  Yernon. 
The  wharf  at  which  the  steamer  landed  is  the  one  that 
Washington  built  and  from  which  the  flour,  tobacco,  and 
corn,  the  chief  productions  of  the  Mount  Yernon  estate, 
were  shipped  in  vessels  for  England  or  the  British  West 
Indies. 

But  a  trolley  line  now  runs  from  the  center  of  Washing- 
ton to  the  north  gate  at  Mount  Yernon,  reaching  the  mansion 
in  an  hour.  The  cars  cross  the  famous  Long  Bridge  over 
the  Potomac,  and  speed  on  their  way  through  woods  and 
over  fields  fraught  with  memories  of  the  Civil  War ;  through 
Alexandria  and  past  Christ  Church,  where  Washington  at- 
tended, and  many  other  scenes  once  familiar  to  him  when 
living  the  life  of  a  plain  Yirginia  planter.  By  and  by  a 


HOW  MOUNT  VERNON  RECEIVED  ITS  NAME.  547 

white  fence,  with  a  background  of  huge  trees,  comes  into 
view.  It  marks  the  northern  boundary  line  of  the  old 
Mount  Vernon  estate,  through  a  part  of  which  the  electric 
cars  now  run.  The  surrounding  country  has  not  changed 
materially  since  Washington's  day,  and  it  does  not  require  a 
vivid  imagination  to  picture  his  commanding  figure  on  his 
customary  daily  round  of  inspection.  The  grounds  are  now 
closed  at  4  o'clock  each  day,  with  the  exception  of  Sunday, 
when  they  are  not  opened  to  the  public  at  all. 

Washington  came  into  possession  of  the  Mount  Yernon 
estate  by  the  will  of  his  half-brother,  Lawrence  Washington, 
who  inherited  it  from  his  father.  Lawrence  Washington 
was  an  officer  of  the  English  navy,  and  had  served  under 
Admiral  Yernon  against  Spain.  Because  of  his  admiration 
of  his  old  commander  he  called  his  estate,  whereon  he  built 
a  modest  mansion,  Mount  Vernon,  and  from  that  the  whole 
domain  received  its  title. 

Lawrence  Washington  died  in  1752,  and  George,  at  the 
age  of  twenty,  had  the  care  of  his  estate  as  chief  executor, 
Lawrence's  little  daughter  Jane  being  the  only  immediate 
heir.  Her  death  left  the  entire  estate  to  George,  pursuant  to 
the  provisions  of  her  father's  will.  It  was  his  home  from 
1754  until  his  death  in  1799. 

In  the  spring  of  1859,  after  he  had  achieved  his  colonial 
military  fame,  George  Washington  brought  to  Mount  Yer- 
non, from  the  home  of  her  widowhood,  his  bride,  Martha 
Custis.  At  seventeen  she  had  married  Daniel  Parke  Custis, 
one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  of  the  Colony,  a  man  more 
than  twenty  years  her  senior,  by  whom  she  had  four  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  were  living.  A  year's  widowhood  had 
not  decreased  her  charms  when  the  gallant  and  susceptible 
young  soldier  met  her. 

And  yet  the  old  mansion  in  which  so  much  of  their  long 
married  life  was  spent,  around  which  cluster  so  many  patri- 
otic and  hallowed  associations,  and  the  grounds  wherein  the 


548  HOW   THE  ESTATE  WAS  PURCHASED. 

mortal  remains  of  Washington  and  his  wife  were  laid  x> 
rest,  were  utterly  neglected  for  years,  and  the  old  house 
nearly  went  to  irretrievable  decay  before  its  value  as  a 
national  Mecca  occurred  to  the  people.  In  1855,  John 
Augustine  Washington,  then  owner,  being  unable  to  main- 
tain the  estate,  offered  it  for  sale.  Even  then  Congress 
could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  purchase  and  restore  the  old 
manor.  At  this  critical  juncture,  Miss  Ann  Pamela  Cun- 
ningham of  South  Carolina,  undertook  the  apparently-hope- 
less effort  of  raising  the  sum  of  $200,000  necessary  to  pur- 
chase the  mansion  and  a  part  of  the  estate.  With  courage 
that  never  faltered  she  earnestly  devoted  herself  to  this  self- 
imposed  task,  and  contributions  were  solicited  from  every 
quarter. 

In  1858  the  Mount  Yernon  Ladies'  Association  was  or- 
ganized, with  Miss  Cunningham  as  Regent.  Vice-Regents 
representing  twelve  states  were  also  elected  and  efforts  to 
raise  the  needed  money  were  increased.  Edward  Everett 
gave  the  proceeds  of  his  lecture  on  Washington,  and  of  some 
of  his  writings,  and  in  this  way  contributed  $69,000  as  his 
personal  contribution  to  the  funds  of  the  association.  Wash- 
ington Irving  gave  $500.  Thousands  of  school  children 
gave  each  five  cents.  The  latter  part  of  1859  the  full  sum 
was  raised,  and  in  1860,  two  hundred  acres  of  the  estate, 
including  the  tomb,  the  mansion  and  its  surrounding  build- 
ings, became  the  property  of  the  association.  Since  that 
time  the  association  has  added  to  its  purchase,  and  now 
controls  237  acres  of  the  original  estate.  A  fund  was  pro- 
vided for  its  permanent  care  and  maintenance.  The  asso- 
ciation has  refitted  the  mansion  with  furnishings  of  colonial 
times,  including  many  articles  which  originally  belonged  to 
Washington  and  once  had  their  place  within  his  home. 

Much  of  the  forty  years  of  Washington's  married  life 
was  spent  at  Mount  Yernon.  It  was  his  home  for  forty-six 
years,  just  one-half  of  which  was  given  to  his  country's  serv- 


WASHINGTON'S  HOME  LIFE.  549 

ice.  He  never  left  it  even  for  a  brief  period  without  regret 
In  the  winter  of  1783  he  wrote  to  Lafayette  :  "  I  am  become 
a  private  citizen  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac ;  and  under 
the  shadow  of  my  own  vine  and  my  own  fig-tree,  free  from 
the  bustle  of  a  camp  and  the  busy  scenes  of  public  life.  . 
I  have  not  only  retired  from  all  public  employments, 
but  I  am  retiring  within  myself.  ..•-.'  .  Envious  of  none, 
I  am  determined  to  be  pleased  with  all ;  and  this,  my  dear 
friend,  being  the  order  of  my  march,  I  will  move  gently 
down  the  stream  of  time  until  I  sleep  with  my  fathers." 

The  life  of  Washington  is  very  closely  interwoven  with 
every  portion  of  Mount  Yernon  ;  and  it  is  here,  in  the  seclu- 
sion and  environment  of  his  own  home,  that  we  can  see,  as 
no  where  else,  the  domestic  side  of  his  character. 

Agriculture  was  Washington's  favorite  pursuit.  He 
found  great  pleasure  in  farming,  and  late  in  life  said,  "  The 
life  of  a  husbandman  of  all  others  is  the  most  delectable," 
and  "  has  ever  been  the  most  favorite  amusement  of  my 
life."  A  visitor  to  Mount  Yernon  in  1785  states  that  his 
host's  "greatest  pride  is  to  be  thought  the  first  farmer  in 
America."  His  strong  affection  for  Mount  Yernon  made 
him  happy  and  contented  while  there,  and  uneasy  when 
away  from  it.  When  leaving  Mount  Yernon  for  New  York 
in  1789,  for  his  first  inauguration  as  President,  he  regret- 
fully bade  "  adieu  to  Mount  Yernon,  to  private  life,  and  to 
domestic  felicity."  From  the  first  his  personal  attention  to 
the  farm  was  seriously  interrupted.  From  1754  till  1759  he 
was  most  of  the  time  on  the  frontier  ;  for  nearly  nine  years 
his  Revolutionary  service  separated  him  from  the  property ; 
and  during  the  two  terms  of  his  presidency  he  had  only 
brief  and  infrequent  visits. 

After  he  had  written  his  farewell  to  his  officers  and  re- 
signed his  commission  in  the  army,  he  fondly  dreamed  of 
spending  his  remaining  years  in  uninterrupted  peace  on  the 
shores  of  the  Potomac.  This  desire  for  the  retirement  of 


550  WASHINGTON  AS  A  LAND-OWNER. 

home  life  was  conspicuous  in  Washington's  character.  His 
return  to  Mount  Vernon  after  the  disbanding  of  the  Conti- 
nental army,  proved  only  a  brief  respite  from  patriotic 
service ;  but  during  that  time  he  devoted  himself  to  the  ag- 
ricultural development  of  his  farm  and  the  interior  improve- 
ment of  his  house.  He  enlarged  the  mansion  in  1760  and 
again  in  1785. 

When  the  estate  passed  into  his  hands  it  consisted  of 
2,500  acres;  but  he  was  a  persistent  purchaser  of  land 
adjoining  his  own,  and  eventually  the  2,500  acres  increased 
to  over  8,000,  of  which  over  3,200  were  under  cultivation 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  He  was  ambitious  to  bring 
the  farm  to  the  highest  pitch  of  cultivation.  He  was  a  dili- 
gent student  of  agricultural  literature,  and  was  constantly 
trying  new  experiments  to  improve  his  crops  and  stock. 

Yet  the  Mount  Vernon  farm  rarely  produced  a  net 
income.  He  owned  thousands  of  scattered  acres  elsewhere, 
for  Washington  was  a  sanguine  speculator,  not  only  in  farm 
lands  but  in  city  lots  and  lottery  schemes  and  raffles,  and  he 
became  more  or  less  land-poor.  In  1763  he  confided  to  a 
friend  that  the  needs  of  his  plantation  "and  other  matters 
.  .  .  swallowed  up  before  I  well  knew  where  I  was,  all  the 
moneys  I  got  by  marriage,  nay  more,  brought  me  in  debt." 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  Washington  was  a  successful 
business  man,  and  his  wealth  steadily  increased.  When  he 
died,  his  property,  exclusive  of  his  wife's  and  the  Mount 
Yernon  estate,  was  estimated  at  $530,000,  and  it  was  said  of 
him  by  a  contemporary,  "  General  Washington  is,  perhaps, 
the  largest  landholder  in  America." 

The  management  of  such  an  extensive  estate  as  Mount 
Yernon  required  a  large  force  of  workmen.  A  grist-mill,  a 
blacksmith-shop,  a  wood-burner  to  keep  the  shop  and  the 
mansion  supplied  with  charcoal,  masons,  carpenters,  a  shoe- 
maker, and  gardeners  were  kept  busy  on  the  place.  At  one 
time  a  still  was  in  operation  from  which  a  good  income  was 


WASHINGTON  THE  FARMER.  551 

obtained.  The  coopers  on  the  place  made  the  barrels  in 
which  the  farm  produce  was  packed,  and  Washington's 
schooner  carried  much  of  it  to  market. 

In  1774  Washington  paid  tithes  on  135  slaves;  besides 
which  must  be  included  the  "  dower  slaves"  of  his  wife.  A 
contemporary,  describing  Mount  Yernon  in  the  same  year, 
speaks  of  his  having  300  negroes. 

In  1793  there  were  fifty-four  draft  horses  on  the  estate, 
and  317  head  of  cattle.  A  large  dairy  was  operated  which, 
somehow,  did  not  fill  Washington's  expectations,  for  he  had 
occasion  to  say,  "  It  is  hoped,  and  will  be  expected,  that 
more  effectual  measures  will  be  pursued  to  make  butter 
another  year ;  for  it  is  almost  beyond  belief  that  from  101 
cows  actually  reported  on  a  late  enumeration  of  the  cattle, 
I  am  obliged  to  buy  butter  for  the  use  of  my  family." 

At  this  time  634  sheep  grazed  in  the  rich  pastures  of 
Mount  Yernon,  and  "  many  "  hogs,  but  "  as  these  were  pretty 
much  at  large  in  the  woodland,"  he  said,  "  the  number  is 
uncertain."  He  loved  horses  and  dogs,  was  an  ardent  sports- 
man, and  enjoyed  a  fox  hunt  over  the  hills  and  across  the 
fields  of  his  own  and  adjoining  estates. 

Martha  Washington's  personality  was  partially  obscured 
by  the  fame  of  her  illustrious  husband,  and  she  was  content 
to  bask  in  its  sunshine.  His  marriage  to  her  was  a  good 
one  from  the  worldly  point  of  view,  for  her  share  of  the 
Custis  property  equaled  "  15,000  acres  of  land,  a  good  part 
of  it  adjoining  the  city  of  Williamsburg ;  several  lots  in  the 
said  city ;  between  200  and  300  negroes ;  and  about  £8,000 
or  £10,000  upon  bond,"  estimated  at  the  time  as  about 
£20,000  in  all,  which  was  further  increased  on  the  death 
of  "  Patsy "  Custis  in  1773  by  a  half  of  her  fortune,  which 
added  £10,000  to  the  sum. 

Washington  was  devoted  to  his  wife's  children,  John 
Parke  and  Martha  Parke  Custis,  whom  he  called  "Jack " 
and  "  Patsy,"  and  who  at  the  date  of  his  marriage  were 


552  GLIMPSES   OF  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

respectively  six  and  four  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Washington 
was  an  anxious  and  worrying  mother.  Once  when  she  had 
left  one  of  the  children  at  Mount  Yernon  while  she  was  on 
a  visit  to  friends,  she  wrote  to  her  sister : 

"  I  carried  iny  little  patt  with  me  and  left  Jackey  at 
home  for  a  trial  to  see  how  well  I  could  stay  without' him 
though  we  were  gon  but  wone  fortnight  I  was  quite  impatient 
to  get  home.  If  I  at  aney  time  heard  the  doggs  barke  or  a 
noise  out,  I  thought  thair  was  a  person  sent  for  me.  I 
often  fancied  he  was  sick  or  some  accident  had  happened  to 
him  so  that  I  think  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  leave  him  as 
long  as  Mr.  Washington  must  stay  when  he  comes." 

Martha  Washington  was  not  an  educated  woman,  and 
her  letters  of  form,  which  required  better  orthography 
than  she  was  mistress  of,  Washington  drafted  for  her,  pen- 
weary  though  he  was.  He  frequently  saved  her  the  trouble 
of  ordering  her  own  clothing,  for  he  wrote  to  his  London 
agent  for  "A  Salmon-colored  Tabby  of  the  enclosed  pattern, 
with  satiiv  flowers,  to  be  made  in  a  sack,"  "  1  Cap,  Handker- 
chief, Tucker  and  Ruffles,  to  be  made  of  Brussels  lace  or 
point,  proper  to  wear  with  the  above  negligee,  to  cost  £20," 
"  1  pair  black,  and  1  pair  white  Satin  Shoes,  of  the  smallest," 
and  "  1  black  mask."  Again  he  writes  his  London  agent, 
"  Mrs.  Washington  sends  home  a  green  sack  to  get  cleaned, 
or  fresh  dyed  of  the  same  color ;  made  up  into  a  handsome 
sack  again,  would  be  her  choice ;  but  if  the  cloth  won't 
afford  that,  then  to  be  thrown  into  a  genteel  Night  Gown." 

Nevertheless  Mrs.  Washington  performed  her  duties 
well,  for  she  combined,  "  in  an  uncommon  degree,  great  dig- 
nity of  manner  with  most  pleasing  affability."  Though  ob- 
stinate and  quick-tempered,  she  is  described  as  "  a  sociable, 
pretty  kind  of  woman,"  "  matronly  and  with  perfect  good 
breeding." 

Washington  had  to  face  the  usual  vexatious  domestic 
problems.  "The  running  off  of  my  cook,"  he  says,  "has 
been  a  most  inconvenient  thing  to  this  family,  and  what 


OLD-TIME  HOSPITALITY.  653 

rendered  it  more  disagreeable,  is  that  I  had  resolved  never 
to  become  the  Master  of  another  slave  by  purchase,  but  this 
resolution  I  fear  I  must  break.  I  have  endeavored  to  hire, 
black  or  white,  but  am  not  yet  supplied." 

The  care  of  the  Mount  Yernon  household  evidently 
proved  too  much  for  Martha  Washington's  ability,  and  a 
housekeeper  was  engaged.  When  one  who  had  filled  the 
position  was  on  the  point  of  leaving,  Washington  wrote  to 
his  agent  to  find  another  without  the  least  delay,  emphasiz- 
ing the  importance  of  haste  because  the  vacancy  would 
"throw  a  great  additional  weight  on  Mrs.  Washington." 
On  another  occasion  he  wrote  that  his  wife's  "  distresses  for 
want  of  a  good  housekeeper  are  such  as  to  render  the  wages 
demanded  by  Mrs.  Forbes  (though  unusually  high)  of  no 
consideration."  To  a  housekeeper  he  promised  "a  warm, 
decent,  and  comfortable  room  to  herself,  to  lodge  in,  and 
will  eat  of  the  victuals  of  our  Table,  but  not  set  at  it,  or  at 
any  time  with  us,  be  her  appearance  what  it  may ;  for  if 
this  was  once  admitted  no  line  satisfactory  to  either  party 
perhaps  could  ba  drawn  thereafter." 

The  hospitality  dispensed  at  Mount  Yernon  was  almost 
baronial  in  its  lavishness,  and  it  was  often  imposed  upon. 
The  old  custom  of  keeping  "  open  house "  prevailed,  and 
attracted  hosts  of  friends  traveling  north  and  south,  and  the 
mansion  was  often  taxed  to  its  fullest  capacity.  At  times, 
Washington  was  a  little  embarrassed  by  calls  from  those 
who  had  no  claim  whatever  upon  him.  He  notes :  "  A  gen- 
tleman calling  himself  the  Count  de  Cheiza  D'Artigan, 
Officer  of  the  French  Guards,  came  here  to  dinner;  but, 
bringing  no  letters  of  introduction,  nor  any  authentic  testi- 
monials of  his  being  either,  I  was  at  a  loss  how  to  receive  or 
treat  him,  —  he  staid  to  dinner  and  the  evening,"  and  the 
next  day  departed  in  Washington's  carriage  to  Alexandria. 
"A  farmer  came  here  to  see  my  drill  plow,"  he  says,  "  and 

Btaid  all  night."    At  another  time  he  records  that  a  woman 
* 


554  DAILY  LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERNON. 

whose  "  name  was  unknown  to  me,  dined  here."  He  spoke 
of  his  home  as  a  "  well-resorted  tavern,"  and  recorded  in  his 
diary,  "  Dined  with  Mrs.  Washington,  which  I  believe  is  the 
first  instance  of  it  since  my  retirement  from  public  life." 

Washington  kept  a  daily  record  of  all  expenses,  even 
going  so  far  as  to  jot  down  everything  that  was  provided 
for  his  table.  He  gave  personal  oversight  to  all  that  was 
going  on  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  no  detail  was  too  small  to 
engage  his  attention.  It  was  his  custom  to  put  all  agree- 
ments in  writing,  and  some  of  them,  found  among  his  papers, 
are  amusingly  interesting,  as,  for  example,  his  agreement 
with  Philip  Barter,  a  gardener,  who  bound  himself  to  keep 
sober  and  not  to  drink  except  on  stated  occasions,  to  which 
Washington  assented  in  an  agreement  which  stipulated  that 
Barter  should  have 

"  Four  dollars  at  Christmas,  with  which  to  be  drunk  four 
days  and  four  nights ;  two  dollars  at  Easter,  to  eifect 
the  same  purpose;  two  dollars  at  Whitsuntide,  to  be 
drunk  for  two  days;  a  dram  in  the  morning,  and  a  drink  of 
grog  at  dinner,  at  noon.  For  the  true  and  faithful  perform- 
ance of  all  these  things,  the  parties  have  hereunto  set  their 
hands,  this  twenty-third  day  of  April,  Anno  Domini,  1787." 

The  contract  was  signed  and  witnessed  with  all  formality. 

Washington  has  left  on  record  a  description  of  the  routine 
of  his  daily  life  at  Mount  Yernon :  "  I  begin  my  diurnal 
course  with  the  sun  ...  if  my  hirelings  are  not  in  their 
places  by  that  time,  I  send  them  messages  of  sorrow  for 
their  indisposition;  having  put  these  wheels  in  motion,  I 
examine  the  state  of  things  further;  the  more  they  are 
probed  the  deeper  I  find  the  wounds  which  my  buildings 
have  sustained  by  an  absence  and  neglect  of  eight  years ;  by 
the  time  I  have  accomplished  these  matters  breakfast  (a  lit- 
tle after  seven  o'clock)  is  ready;  this  being  over,  I  mount 
my  horse  and  ride  around  my  farms,  which  employs  me 
until  it  is  time  to  dress  for  dinner. .,  The  usual  time  for 


WASHINGTON'S  LAST  ILLNESS.  557 

sitting  at  the  table,  a  walk,  and  tea  bring  me  within  the 
dawn  of  candlelight ;  previous  to  which,  if  not  prevented  by 
company,  I  resolve  that  as  soon  as  the  glimmering  taper 
supplies  the  place  of  the  great  luminary  I  will  retire  to  my 
writing-table  and  acknowledge  the  letters  I  have  received ; 
when  the  lights  are  brought  I  feel  tired  and  disinclined  to 
engage  in  this  work,  conceiving  that  the  next  night  will  do 
as  well.  The  next  night  comes,  and  with  it  the  same  causes 
for  postponement,  and  so  on.  Having  given  you  the  history 
of  a  day,  it  will  serve  for  a  year." 

A  visitor  to  Mount  Yernon  at  this  time  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  the  master  "  often  works  with  his  men 
himself  —  strips  off  his  coat  and  labors  like  a  common  man. 
The  General  has  a  great  turn  for  mechanics.  It's  astonish- 
ing with  what  niceness  he  directs  everything  in  the  building 
way,  condescending  even  to  measure  the  things  himself,  that 
all  may  be  perfectly  uniform." 

Washington's  final  illness  dates  from  December  12, 1799. 
On  that  day  lie  contracted  a  severe  cold  while  riding  about 
his  plantation  in  "  rain,  hail,  and  snow."  When  he  came  in 
late  in  the  afternoon  it  was  observed  that  his  clothes  were 
wet,  but  he  said  his  "great  coat  had  kept  him  dry;  but  his 
neck  appeared  to  be  wet  and  the  snow  was  hanging  on  his 
hair."  The  next  day  he  was  worse,  "and  complained  of 
having  a  sore  throat,"  but  he  "  made  light  of  it,  as  he  would 
never  take  anything  to  carry  off  a  cold,  always  observing, 
4  let  it  go  as  it  came.' ':  On  the  following  morning  he  could 
"  swallow  nothing,"  "  appeared  to  be  distressed,  convulsed, 
and  almost  suffocated." 

The  treatment  of  his  last  illness  by  the  doctors  was  bar- 
barous, even  when  judged  by  the  standard  of  medical  skill 
of  that  time.  Although  he  had  been  bled  once  already, 
they  prescribed  "two  pretty  copious  bleedings,"  and  finally 
a  third,  "  when  about  thirty-two  ounces  of  blood  were 
drawn,"  or  the  equivalent  of  a  quart. 


558  RESIGNED  TO  DEATH. 

Shortly  after  this  last  bleeding  Washington  seemed  to 
have  resigned  himself,  for  he  gave  some  directions  concern- 
ing his  will,  and  said,  referring  to  his  approaching  death, 
"  as  it  was  the  debt  which  we  must  all  pay,  he  looked  to  the 
event  with  perfect  resignation."  He  suffered  great  pain  and 
distress,  and  said  to  the  doctor,  "  I  die  hard,  but  I  am  not 
afraid  to  go."  A  little  later  he  said,  "  I  feel  myself  going. 
I  thank  you  for  your  attention;  you  had  better  not  take 
any  more  trouble  about  me,  but  let  me  go  off  quietly."  He 
expired  without  a  struggle,  December  14,  1799.  His  last 
words  were,  "'Tis  welL" 

The  remains  of  Washington,  and  later  those  of  his  wife, 
were  placed  in  metal  coffins  and  deposited  in  the  old  vault  at 
Mount  Vernon.  In  1837  the  remains  of  both  were  intrusted 
to  the  final  keeping  of  two  marble  coffins,  hewn  each  from  a 
single  block  of  marble,  made  and  presented  by  Mr.  John 
Struthers  of  Philadelphia,  which  were  then  deposited  in  the 
new  vault  where  they  now  lie.  This  vault  was  erected 
many  years  ago,  in  pursuance  of  instructions  given  in  the 
following  clause  in  Washington's  will :  "The  family  vault  at 
Mount  Yernon  requiring  repairs,  and  being  improperly  situ- 
ated besides,  I  desire  that  a  new  one,  of  brick,  and  upon  a 
larger  scale,  may  be  built  at  the  foot  of  what  is  called  the 
Vineyard  Inclosure;  on  the  ground  which  is  marked  out, 
in  which  my  remains,  and  those  of  my  deceased  relatives 
(now  in  the  old  vault)  and  such  others  of  my  family  as  may 
choose  to  be  entombed  there,  may  be  deposited." 

The  old  vault  referred  to  was  upon  the  brow  of  a  decliv- 
ity, in  full  view  of  the  Potomac  river,  about  300  yards  south 
of  the  mansion.  Time  and  neglect  had  wrought  its  ruin. 
The  doorway  was  gone,  and  the  cavity  was  partly  filled 
with  rubbish.  Therein  the  remains  of  Washington  had  lain 
undisturbed  for  over  thirty  years,  when  an  attempt  was 
made  by  some  vandal  to  carry  them  away.  The  insecure  old 
vault  was  entered,  and  a  skull  and  some  bones  were  taken ; 


REMOVAL  OF  WASHINGTON'S  REMAINS.  561 

but  these  comprised  no  part  of  the  remains  of  the  illustrious 
dead.  The  robber  was  detected,  and  the  bones  were  recov- 
ered. The  new  vault  was  then  immediately  built,  and  all 
the  family  remains  \vere  placed  in  it. 

Mr.  William  Strickland,  who  designed  the  lid  of  Wash- 
ington's coffin,  and  accompanied  Mr.  Struthers  when  the 
remains  of  the  patriot  were  placed  in  it  in  1837,  has  left  a 
most  interesting  account  of  that  event.  The  vault  was  first 
entered  by  Mr.  Strickland,  accompanied  by  Major  Lewis  (the 
last  survivor  of  the  first  executors  of  the  will  of  Washington), 
and  his  son.  On  entering  the  vault  they  found  everything 
in  confusion.  Decayed  fragments  of  coffins  were  scattered 
about,  and  bones  of  various  parts  of  the  human  body  were 
seen  promiscuously  thrown  together.  The  coffins  of  Wash- 
ington and  his  wife  were  in  the  deepest  recess  of  the  vault. 
They  were  of  lead,  inclosed  in  wooden  cases.  When  the 
new  sarcophagi  arrived,  the  old  coffin  of  Washington  was 
brought  forth.  When  the  decayed  wooden  case  was  re- 
moved, the  leaden  lid  was  perceived  to  be  sunken  and  fracT 
tured.  In  the  bottom  of  the  wooden  case  was  found  the 
silver  coffin-plate,  in  the  form  of  a  shield,  which  was  placed 
upon  the  leaden  coffin  when  Washington  Avas  first  entombed. 

"At  the  request  of  Major  Lewis,"  says  Mr.  Strickland, 
"  the  fractured  part  of  the  lid  was  turned  over  on  the  lower 
part,  exposing  to  view  a  head  and  breast  of  large  dimen- 
sions, which  appeared,  by  the  dim  light  of  the  candles,  to 
have  suffered  but  little  from  the  effects  of  time.  The  eye- 
sockets  were  large  and  deep,  and  the  breadth  across  the 
temples,  together  with  the  forehead,  appeared  of  unusual 
size.  There  was  no  appearance  of  grave-clothes.  The  chest 
was  broad,  the  color  was  dark,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
dried  flesh  and  skin  adhering  closely  to  the  bones.  We  saw 
no  hair,  nor  wras  there  any  offensive  odor  from  the  body. 
The  leaden  lid  was  restored  to  its  place ;  the  body,  raised  by 
six  men,  was  carried  and  laid  in  the  marble  coffin,  and  the 


562  THE  NEW   TOMB. 

cover  being  put  on  and  set  in  cement,  it  was  sealed  from 
our  sight  on  Saturday,  the  seventh  day  of  October,  1837." 
The  remains  of  Martha  Washington  were  at  the  same  time 
removed  from  the  old  coffin  to  the  new  marble  sarcophagus 
and  were  laid  beside  those  of  her  husband  in  the  new  tomb. 
The  new  tomb  is  a  severely-plain  but  spacious  vault 
built  of  brick,  with  an  arched  roof.  It  is  now  overgrown 
with  shrubbery  and  vines.  Its  iron  door  opens  into  a  vesti- 
bule, also  built  of  brick.  Over  the  vault  door,  upon  a  stone 
panel,  are  cut  the  words :  "  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life;  he  that  belie  vet  h  in  Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live."  The  vault  is  twelve  feet  in  height.  The 
gateway  is  flanked  by  brick  pilasters  surmounted  by  a  stone 
coping  which  covers  a  gothic  arch.  Over  this  arch  is  a 
white  marble  tablet  inscribed : 

Within  this  Inclosure 

Rest 

The  Remains  of 
GEN.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  ante-chamber  are  seen  the  two  marble  sarcophagi. 
The  one  on  the  right  bears  on  its  face  the  name  of  Wash- 
ington, with  chiseled  coat-of-arms  of  the  United  States 
and  a  draped  flag.  One  of  the  talons  of  the  eagle  in  the 
coat-of-arms  is  missing ;  it  was  broken  off  by  a  vandal  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War.  The  other  sarcophagus  is  inscribed : 

MARTHA, 

Consort  of  Washington. 

Died  May  22,  1801, 

Aged  71  years. 

The  date  of  the  year  is  an  error;  it  should  have  read  1802. 
ISTo  matter  how  often  one  has  visited  Mount  Yernon  it  is 
always  attractive.  Aik  indescribable  interest  possesses  one 
as  he  wanders  through  halls  and  rooms  where  walked,  slept, 
ate,  and  drank  the  great  central  figure  in  the  stirring  events 
from  which  our  nationality  was  evolved. 


THE  INTERIOR   OF  THE  MANSION.  565 

Though  the  Mount  Vernon  house  was  a  mansion  in  its 
day,  its  rooms  can  bear  no  comparison  with  those  of  modern 
houses  which  make  no  great  pretensions.  Modern  life  ex- 
acts more  comforts  than  the  18th  century  coijld  supply  to 
its  living-rooms. 

The  furniture  now  on  exhibition  at  Mount  Vernon,  some 
of  which  was  used  by  the  family, —  and  a  good  deal  more  of 
it  was  not  —  is  neither  beautiful  nor  comfortable.  There  is 
an  air  of  comfort  about  the  huge  old  mahogany  bedsteads, 
but  the  steps  beside  them  are  suggestive  of  stumbles  in  the 
dark  and  damaged  toes.  It  must  have  required  careful  cal- 
culation to  mount  into  one  of  those  mountainous  feather 
beds  after  extinguishing  the  candle.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  bed  in  which  Washington  breathed  his  last,  and  which 
is  shown  in  the  room  in  which  he  died,  is  lower  than  some 
of  the  others,  particularly  the  one  in  Nellie  Custis'  chamber. 
It  is  some  distance  from  the  dressing-table  to  the  bed,  and 
possibly  after  a  few  unfortunate  experiences  in  scaling  the 
downy  heights  Washington  had  the  posts  shortened. 

The  room  in  which  Washington  died,  naturally  attracts 
the  most  attention.  It  was  never  again  occupied  after  his 
death.  It  was  closed  and  all  in  it  kept  sacred  to  his  memory. 
The  bed  now  in  this  room  is  the  one  on  which  he  died.  His 
military  trunk,  a  few  camp  equipments,  two  chair  cushions 
worked  by  Mrs.  Washington,  and  a  small,  plain  mahogany 
corner  toilet-stand,  are  all  that  remain  of  the  original  fur- 
niture. 

With  all  the  comfortable  rooms  in  the  second  story  at 
the  disposal  of  his  widow,  her  choice  after  his  death  was 
given  to  one  under  the  roof,  hot  in  summer  and  cold  in 
winter,  where  the  single  small  window  looked  out  upon  the 
burial-place  of  her  departed  husband.  It  is  a  mere  garret. 
One  little  attic  window  gives  a  meager  glimpse  of  the  lovely 
landscape  below,  and  even  in  its  best  estate  the  room  must 
have  been  inconvenient  and  dreary.  Few  modern  "  Bridgets  " 


566  THE  LITTLE  ATTIC  WINDOW. 

would  be  content  to  occupy  for  a  week  such  a  room  as  this 
in  which  Martha  Washington  passed  the  lonely  months  of 
her  widowhood  until  she  died.  Why  did  she  take  this  room 
instead  of  the  many  others  on  the  floor  below  ?  The  reason 
reveals  another  phase  of  that  simple  romance  in  the  life  of 
Washington  and  his  wife.  This  little  attic  window  was  the 
only  one  commanding  a  view  of  the  old  tomb  in  which  her 
husband's  remains  had  been  laid,  and  thus  during  the  two 
and  a  half  years  that  she  survived  him,  the  lonely  mourner, 
tenderly  cared  for  by  her  devoted  servants,  sat  much  of  the 
time  by  this  little  window : 

"  Gazing  through  the  morning  light, 

At  noon-tide  looking  fondly  down  — 
Peering  forth  in  somber  night  — 

Or  when  the  leaves  are  green  or  brown  ; 
Or  when  the  snow  soft  shrouds  the  mound, 
Where  lies  the  sleeper  under  ground." 

"  Looking  and  longing  over  there,  with  faith 
That  in  some  golden  hour,  his  spirit,  robed 
In  drapery  of  light,  and  winged  with  love, 
Should  come  to  her  with  blessings  in  his  eyes, 
And  sweetly  feed,  with  old-time  rapturous  smiles, 
Her  famished  soul." 

Standing  by  this  window  and  thinking  of  Martha  Wash- 
ington's devotion,  we  can  better  appreciate  the  words  she 
used  in  that  reply  to  President  Adams  when  he  expressed 
to  her  the  wish  of  Congress  that  Washington's  remains 
might  rest  in  the  Capitol  —  words  which  are  quoted  in  a 
previous  chapter. 

The  banquet  hall  was  planned  by  Washington  and  built 
by  him  in  1T85.  The  large  equestrian  portrait,  "  Washing, 
ton  before  Yorktown,"  was  painted  by  Rembrandt  Peale. 
The  first  time  Washington  sat  for  his  portrait,  he  wrote  to 
a  friend,  "Inclination  having  yielded  to  importunity,  I  am 
now,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  under  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Peale ;  but  in  so  grave  —  so  sullen  a  mood  —  and  now  and 


ELEANOR  CUSTIS    WEDDING  GIFT.  56? 

then  under  the  influence  of  Morpheus,  when  some  critical 
strokes  are  making,  that  I  fancy  the  skill  of  this  Gentleman's 
Pencil  will  be  put  to  it,  in  describing  to  the  World  what 
manner  of  man  I  am." 

One  who  is  not  a  vandal  at  heart  cannot  gaze  upon  the 
carved  mantelpiece  of  Carrara  marble  in  the  banquet  hall 
without  anathematizing  the  whole  race  of  relic  hunters. 
This  exquisite  work  has  been  mutilated  in  the  most  outra- 
geous way  by  people  who  undoubtedly  would  resent  the 
charge  that  they  are  worse  than  thieves. 

In  the  music-room  of  the  mansion  stands  the  quaint  old 
harpsichord  which  General  Washington  presented  as  a  wed- 
ding gift  to  his  adopted  daughter,  the  beautiful  Eleanor 
Custis.  It  was  made  in  London,  at  a  cost  of  $1000,  and  old 
ocean  tossed  it  over  to  delight  the  heart  of  the  belle  of 
Mount  Vernon.  Its  broken  and  discolored  keys  once 
thrilled  to  the  touch  of  beauty,  and  made  the  old  halls  of 
Mount  Yernon  ring  with  mirth  and  music. 

In  the  family  sitting-room,  which  commands  a  pictur- 
esque view  of  the  lawn  and  the  river,  Martha  Washington 
passed  many  long  hours  while  her  husband  was  away  mak- 
ing history,  although  she  often  visited  him  in  camp.  She 
did  not  take  kindly  to  the  restraints  of  official  life.  Writ- 
ing to  a  friend,  she  says,  "  Mrs.  Sins  will  give  you  a  better 
account  of  the  fashions  than  I  can  —  I  live  a  very  dull  life 
hear  and  know  nothing  that  passes  in  the  town  —  I  never 
goe  to  any  public  place  —  indeed  I  think  I  am  more  like  a 
State  prisoner  than  anything  else ;  there  is  certain  bounds 
set  for  me  which  I  must  not  depart  from  —  and  as  I  cannot 
doe  as  I  like,  I  am  obstinate  and  stay  at  home  a  great 
deal." 

The  mansion,  although  covering  a  large  area,  possesses 
no  architectural  beauty,  and  the  interior  is  far  from  being 
well  arranged.  The  rooms  of  the  General  and  Mrs.  Was^- 
ington  were  in  the  south  end ;  these  were  reached  by  a  side 


568         THE  GARDEN  AND  BOWLING  GREEN. 

hall  on  the  east.  To  gain  the  sleeping-rooms  on  the  north, 
over  the  state  parlor,  one  had  to  pass  through  the  rooms 
opening  from  the  main  hall,  which  must  have  been  some- 
what embarrassing  when  the  house  was  full  of  company. 
The  kitchen,  with  its  huge  fireplace,  its  crane  and  turnspits 
still  in  place,  is  on  the  west  side,  thirty  feet  or  more  from 
the  main  building,  from  which  all  the  dishes  for  the  dining- 
room  had  to  be  carried  through  a  covered  colonnade. 

The  grounds  on  the  west  side  of  the  house  are  level  and 
stretch  ajvay  to  the  road,  while,  scattered  about,  in  regular 
order,  are  the  many  outbuildings  which  suggest  the  old 
plantation  with  its  army  of  servants  and  slaves.  The  west 
lawn,  Washington  was  wont  to  call  his  "  bowling  green." 
The  curved  course  which  incloses  it  is  over  half  a  mile  in 
circumference,  and  in  the  old  days  many  a  gay  party  gal- 
loped over  it.  Magnificent  trees  line  it.  It  is  said  that  all 
of  them  were  selected  and  many  planted  by  Washington. 

The  vegetable  garden  is  on  the  right  as  one  faces  the 
mansion;  the  flower  garden  is  on  the  left.  The  latter 
abounds  with  old-fashioned  flowers  arranged  in  .beds  laid 
out  in  formal  style  and  bordered  with  box  according  to  the 
fashion  of  Washington's  day,  and  still  maintained  just  as  he 
left  them.  This  garden  makes  a  delightful  strolling  place. 
Here  was  Martha  Washington's  rose  garden,  and  in  summer 
the  roses  still  bloom.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  family  to 
ask  distinguished  guests  to  plant  something  as  a  keepsake, 
and  many  of  these  mementos  still  flourish.  Here  is  the 
famous  Mary  Washington  rose,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
named  by  Washington  for  his  mother,  slips  from  which  are 
sold  to  visitors.  We  may  wander  about  these  grounds  for 
hours  and  ever  find  material  for  sentiment  and  reflection. 

Few  changes  are  now  perceptible  at  Mount  Vernon  from 
year  to  year.  It  is  under  the  watchful  eyes  of  an  efficient 
superintendent,  employed  by  the  Mount  Vernon  Ladies' 
Association,  and  every  sign  of  decay  is  obliterated  as  soon 


STATELY  SENTINEL  TREES.  569 

as  it  appears.  The  natural  beauties  of  the  historic  place,  of 
course,  increase.  The  trees  which  Washington  planted  rear 
their  heads  with  added  girth  and  height.  The  four  that 
guard  the  west  entrance  have  stood  more  than  a  century. 
Two  are  poplar  and  two  ash,  each  a  perfect  specimen  of  its 
kind.  The  trees  about  the  old  place  have  a  fascination  for 
many  visitors.  Washington  planted  them,  tended  them, 
watched  them  grow.  In  the  shade  of  many  still  standing 
he  was  wont  to  walk.  In  the  deer  park,  which  occupies  the 
slope  of  the  river  bank  facing  the  east  front  of  the  mansion, 
deer  feed  as  in  the  old  days,  and  fawns  scurry  about.  This 
park  was  restored  a  few  years  ago  and  stocked.  An  iron 
fence  separates  it  from  the  grounds  proper. 

After  all,  the  best  recollections  that  one  carries  away 
from  Mount  Yernon  do  not  come  from  the  interior  of  the 
house  but  from  the  exterior  and  surroundings.  In  the 
rooms  are  very  many  articles  that,  while  furnishing  them 
and  making  them  look  very  quaint  and  even  homelike, 
neither  Washington  nor  his  wife  ever  saw.  They  are  either 
reproductions  or  colonial  relics  gathered  from  various 
places.  But  on  the  veranda  we  may  find  and  enjoy  the  real 
beauty  of  Mount  Yernon  —  its  environment  and  prospect. 

Here  Washington  looked  down  the  gentle  slope  to  the 
wide  Potomac,  flecked  with  white  sails  and  pleasure  boats. 
He  stood  as  we  s£and  upon  these  old  weather-worn  tiles 
wrth  which  the  portico  is  paved,  and  which  were  imported 
by  him  from  England  in  1786 ;  here  his  eyes  could  feast,  as 
can  ours,  on  the  fairest  of  landscapes.  As  we  leave  this  his- 
toric spot  we  feel  that  it  is  not  in  the  city  which  bears  his 
name,  not  in  the  great  towering  monument  dedicated  to  his 
memory,  but  here  at  Mount  Yernon,  amid  carefully-pre- 
served scenes  of  his  home  life,  that  we  come  nearest  to  the 
personality  of  Washington's  character,  and  are  enabled  to 
see  him  as  he  was :  the  patriot  and  statesman  "  who  knew 
no  glory  but  his  country's  good-'5 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OP 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE— FAIR  AND  STATELY  WOMEN 

WHO    REIGNED    IN    THE    EXECUTIVE 

MANSION    IN    EARLY  DAYS. 

A  Morning  Dream  —  Memories  of  Martha  Washington  —  Her  Educational 
Disadvantages  —  An  Average  Matron  and  Thrifty  Housewife  —  Her 
Virtues  and  Moral  Rectitude  —  Ministering  to  the  Suffering  Soldiers 
at  Valley  Forge  —  Washington's  Letters  to  His  Wife  — "My  Dear 
Patsy"  —  Domestic  Affairs  at  Mount  Vernon  —  Giving  Her  Husband 
a  Curtain-Lecture  —  An  Englishman  Who  Was  "  Struck  With  Awe  " 
—  Martha  Washington's  Seclusion  and  Death  —  Abigail  Adams,  Wife 
of  President  John  Adams  —  Adams'  Early  Love  Affairs  —  Life  in  the 
Unfinished  White  House  —  A  Lively  Picture  —  Not  Enough  Coal  or 
Wood  To  Keep  Warm  —  Some  Interesting  Details  —  Drying  the  Family 
Wash  in  the  Great  East  Room  —  Jefferson's  Grief  at  the  Death  of  His 
Wife  —  How  Jefferson  Blacked  His  Own  Boots  —  A  Dignified 
Foreigner  Shocked  — "We  Saved  de  Fiddle." 


ITTING  in  the  lovely  Blue  Room  of  the  White 
House,  the  breezes  from  the  Potomac  floating 
through  the  closed  blinds  and  lace  curtains,  and 
drifting  over  the  mounds  of  fl<_  \vers  which,  rising 
high  above  the  great  vases,  fill  all  the  air  with  fra- 
grance, I  evoke  from  the  past  a  company  of  fair  and 
stately  women  who  have  dwelt  under  this  roof,  or  influenced 
the  lives  and  happiness  of  men  who  have  ruled  the  nation. 
First,  Martha  Washington.  To  be  sure,  she  never  reigned 
in  the  White  House ;  but  who  can  recall  the  wives  of  the 
Presidents  without  seeing,  first  of  them  all,  the  serenely- 
beautiful  woman  whose  pictured  face  is  so  familiar  to  us? 

(570) 


A  LADY  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME.  571 

In  herself,  Martha  Washington  was  in  no  wise  a  remark- 
able woman.  Personally,  she  was  a  fair  representative  of 
the  average  American  matron  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Whatever  may  be  the  right  of  American  women  to  boast  of 
superior  educational  advantages  to-day,  in  the  time  of  Martha 
Washington  and  Abigail  Adams  such  advantages  were  few, 
though  eagerly  desired.  Girls  were  shut  out  from  the 
Boston  High  School  because  they  had  flocked  to  it  in  such 
numbers  in  pursuit  of  knowledge.  While  her  brother  went 
to  Yale  or  Harvard,  the  girl  of  New  England,  if  taught  at 
all,  was  taught  at  home.  New  England  had  little  right  to 
boast  over  Virginia  in  that  day.  The  daughters  of  the  cav- 
aliers were  oftener  taught  to  dance  and  to  play  the  spinet 
than  the  daughters  of  the  Puritans  ;  but  neither  could  spell, 
nor  many  more  than  barely  read. 

Had  Martha  Washington  enjoyed  the  highest  privileges 
for  mental  development  she  would  never  have  been  known 
to  the  world  as  an  intellectual  woman,  or  as  a  woman  who, 
by  any  impulse  of  her  unassisted  nature,  would  ever  have 
risen  above  the  commonplace.  This  thrifty  and  industrious 
housewife  usually  had  knitting-needles  in  her  hands,  and  she 
thought  she  had  achieved  a  feat  to  be  proud  of  when  she  saved 
the  ravelings  of  old  black  silk  stockings  and  worn-out  chair- 
covers  and  wove  them  into  a  dress  for  herself.  She  could 
spin  and  weave,  but  she  could  not  spell.  She  basked  in  the 
warmth  and  cheer  of  her  bountiful  home,  the  manifold  cares 
and  burdens  of  which,  to  the  smallest  detail,  were  borne  by 
her  illustrious  husband. 

Martha  Washington's  strongest  claim  to  veneration  is  as 
the  wife  of  Washington.  In  that  position,  her  homely  vir- 
tues and  moral  rectitude  show  to  unclouded  advantage. 
Personally,  her  most  marked  characteristics  were  her  strong 
natural  sense  of  propriety  and  fitness,  and  her  high  moral 
qualities.  During  the  Revolution  her  patriotism  kept  pace 
with  that  of  her  husband.  The  trials  of  the  years  that  fol- 


572  MRS.    WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 

lowed  are  matters  of  history :  the  severed  household,  the 
burden  of  cares  and  fears,  and  the  brave-hearted  woman 
gladly  exchanging,  whenever  possible,  the  comfort  and 
security  of  home  for  the  discomforts  and  dangers  of  the 
camp,  and  bringing  cheer  to  her  husband  and  comfort  to  the 
ill-fed  and  ill-clad  soldiers. 

Amid  the  sufferings  of  Valley  Forge,  one  of  her  helpers 
writes :  "  I  never  in  my  life  knew  a  woman  so  busy  from 
early  morning  till  late  at  night  as  was  „  Lady  Washington, 
providing  comforts  for  the  sick  soldiers.  Every  day,  except 
Sundays,  the  wives  of  the  officers  in  camp,  and  sometimes 
other  women,  were  invited  to  Mr.  Potts's  to  assist  her  in 
knitting  socks,  patching  garments  and  making  shirts  for  the 
poor  soldiers  when  material  could  be  procured.  Every  fair 
day  she  might  be  seen,  with  basket  in  hand,  and  with  a 
single  attendant,  going  among  the  huts  seeking  the  keenest 
and  most  needy  sufferers,  and  giving  all  the  comfort  to  them 
in  her  power." 

Washington  wrote  many  and  long  letters  to  his  wife 
which  were  full  of  ardent  affection,  but  "  Lady  "  Washing- 
ton thought  so  much  of  these  that  she  destroyed  them  be- 
fore she  died,  no  doubt  because  they  were  so  largely  devoted 
to  a  free  discussion  of  public  affairs.  Only  one  letter  es- 
caped, —  the  one  in  which  he  announced  his  appointment  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  colonial  army.  He  begins  the 
letter  "  My  Dearest,"  and  closes  it  with  the  statement  that 
he  is  "  Avith  unfeigned  regard "  her  "  very  affectionate 
George  Washington."  He  uses  several  times  in  the  letter 
his  pet  name  for  his  wife,  which  was  "  my  dear  Patsy,"  and 
says  he  has  made  a  will  with  which  he  doubts  not  she  will 
be  pleased.  During  the  forty  years  of  his  married  life  "  he 
wore,"  says  his  adopted  son,  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis,  "  suspended  from  his  neck  by  a  gold  chain  and  rest, 
ing  on  his  bosom,  the  miniature  portrait  of  his  wife." 

Though  her  pictures  represent  her  as  a  handsome  woman, 


LIFE   AT   MOUNT   VERNON  573 

the  current  history  of  the  times  says  that  as  she  matured 
she  grew  stout,  and  became  a  robust  and  not  particularly 
handsome  old  lady.  More  than  likely,  too,  she  had  a  temper 
of  her  own,  for  she  confesses  to  "  being  tried  beyond  endur- 
ance "  by  the  careless  ways  of  one  of  Washington's  nieces. 
It  is  on  record  that  when  the  big  French  hound,  a  present 
from  Lafayette,  carried  off  the  ham  which  should  have 
graced  the  dinner-table,  she  clearly  voiced  her  opinion  of 
dogs  in  general  and  "  Yulcan"  in  particular;  and  a  guest 
who  slept  at  Mount  Yernon  has  testified  to  overhearing  her 
giving  the  General  what  is  frequently  called  a  "  curtain- 
lecture  "  in  such  animated  tones  that  her  voice  penetrated 
through  the  thin  partitions  which  separated  the  rooms.  The 
traveler  adds  that  General  Washington  listened  in  silence, 
and,  when  the  lecture  was  finished,  merely  said,  "Now, 
good  sleep  to  you,  my  dear."  After  this  nothing  more  was 
heard. 

After  their  retirement  to  Mount  Yernon,  while  all  the 
outer  affairs  of  the  estate,  to  their  minutest  detail,  were 
superintended  by  General  Washington,  in  addition  to  the 
mighty  burdens  of  state  which  he  bore,  Mrs.  Washington 
superintended  her  handmaidens  and  spinning-wheels.  Looms 
were  constantly  plying  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  General 
Washington  wore,  at  his  first  inauguration,  a  full  suit  of  fine 
cloth  woven  in  his  own  house.  At  a  ball  given  in  New 
Jersey  in  honor  of  herself,  Martha  Washington  appeared  in 
a  "  simple  russet  gown,"  with  a  white  handkerchief  about 
her  neck.  To  the  state  receptions  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia she  carried  the  same  stately  simplicity. 

A  lady  of  the  olden  time,  a  daughter  of  Yirginia,  her 
ideas  of  court  forms  and  etiquette  had  all  been  received 
from  the  mother  country.  Hers  was  the  difficult  task  to 
harmonize  aristocratic  exclusiveness  with  republican  plain- 
ness. She  was  never  to  forget  that  she  was  the  wife  of  the 
President  of  a  Kepublic, —  and  also  never  to  forget  that  she 


574  DIGNITY   OF  EARLY   SOCIAL  CUSTOMS. 

was  to  command  the  respect  of  the  old  monarchies  who 
were  ready  to  despise  everything  poor  and  crude  in  the 
efforts  of  the  new  government  to  maintain  itself  in  poverty, 
difficulty,  and  inexperience.  Thus  the  social  receptions  of 
the  first  President  of  the  United  States  at  New  York,  were 
held  under  the  most  rigorous  and  exclusive  rules.  They 
were  open  only  to  persons  of  privileged  rank  and  degree, 
and  they  could  not  enter  unless  attired  in  full  dress.  The 
receptions  of  Mrs.  "Washington  merely  reproduced,  on  a 
smaller  plan,  the  customs  and  ceremonies  of  foreign  courts. 

In  the  second  year  of  Washington's  administration  the 
government  was  removed  to  Philadelphia,  there  to  remain 
for  the  next  ten  years.  The  household  furniture  of  the 
Washingtons  was  moved  thither  by  slow  and  weary  pro- 
cesses by  land  and  water,  the  President,  in  addition  to  his 
public  cares,  superintending  personally  the  preparation  and 
embarkation  of  every  article  himself.  Mrs.  Washington 
was  sick  at  the  time,  but  the  following  year,  the  house  of 
Robert  Morris  having  been  taken  by  the  corporation  for  the 
President's  house,  Mrs.  Washington  again  opened  her  draw- 
ing-rooms from  seven  to  ten  p.  M.  Sensible  woman !  No 
haggard  and  faded  beauties  dancing  all  night,  faded  and  old 
before  their  time,  owed  their  wasted  lives  and  powers  to  her. 
In  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  when  the  clock's  hands 
pointed  to  ten,  she  arose  with  affable  dignity,  and,  bowing 
to  all,  retired,  leaving  her  guests  to  do  likewise.  With  this 
action,  it  was  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  announcement  which 
she  made  at  the  first  reception  held  by  her  in  New  York : 
"  General  Washington  retires  at  ten  o'clock,  and  I  usually 
precede  him.  Good  night." 

At  these  receptions,  Mrs.  Washington  sat.  The  guests 
were  grouped  in  a  circle,  round  which  the  President  passed, 
speaking  politely  to  each  one,  but  never  shaking  hands.  It 
was  reserved  to  a  later  generation  to  grasp  and  crush  that 
poor  member  till  it  has  to  be  poulticed  after  official  greet- 


LAST  DAYS  OF  MRS.    WASHINGTON.  575 

ings.  It  was  the  habit  of  Mrs.  "Washington  to  return  the 
calls  of  those  who  were  privileged  to  pay  her  visits.  Of 
these  ceremonious  visits,  a  New  York  lady  who,  as  a  child, 
remembered  her,  wrote  :  "It  was  Mrs.  Washington's  custom 
to  return  visits  on  the  third  day.  She  was  always  accom- 
panied by  the  President's  secretary,  and  preceded  by  a 
footman,  who  knocked  at  the  hostess's  door  and  announced 
Mrs.  Washington's  arrival.  When  she  drove  out,  her  serv- 
ants wore  liveries  of  white  and  scarlet  or  white  and 
orange." 

An  English  gentleman,  who  breakfasted  with  the  Presi- 
dent's family  in  1794,  says : 

"  I  was  struck  with  awe  and  veneration  when  I  recollected  that  I  was 
now  in  the  presence  of  the  great  Washington,  the  noble  and  wise  benefac- 
tor of  the  world.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Washington  herself  made  tea  and  coffee 
for  us.  On  the  table  were  two  small  plates  of  sliced  tongue  and  dry  toast, 
bread  and  butter  ;  but  no  broiled  fish,  as  is  the  custom  here.  She  struck 
me  as  being  somewhat  older  than  the  President,  though  I  understand  both 
were  born  the  same  year.  She  was  extremely  simple  in  her  dress,  and 
wore  a  very  plain  cap,  with  her  gray  hair  turned  up  under  it." 

It  is  as  the  wife  of  Washington,  through  sentiments 
called  out  by  the  greatness  of  his  character  and  the  love 
which  she  bore  him,  that  the  moral  capacity  of  Martha 
Washington's  nature  ever  approaches  greatness. 

In  the  little  attic  room  at  Mount  Yernon,  in  which  she 
died,  Martha  Washington,  as  a  woman,  comes  nearest  to  us. 
Here  one  can  realize  how  utterly  done  with  earth,  its 
pangs  and  glory,  was  the  soul  who  shut  herself  within  its 
narrow  walls,  there  to  take  on  immortality.  The  rooms  of 
Washington  below,  in  one  of  which  he  died,  a  thrifty  me- 
chanic of  the  present  day  would  think  too  small  and  shabby 
for  him.  And  when  the  great  soul  went  forth  to  the 
unknown,  as  a  human  presence  to  inhabit  it  never  more,  the 
wife  also  wgnt  forth,  and  never  again  crossed  its  threshold. 
Here,  in  this  little  room,  scarcely  more  than  a  closet,  sur- 


576  THE  YOUTH  OF  JOHN  ADAMS. 

rounded  only  by  the  simplest  necessities  of  existence, 

tha  Washington  lived  out  the  lonely  days  of  her  desolate 

widowhood. 

In  her  portraits  Mrs.  Washington  looks  out  from  the 
ruffled  cap  of  her  maturer  years,  genuine,  true,  and  whole- 
some, counted  worthy  to  be  her  husband's  closest  confi- 
dante ;  a  woman  who  found  in  the  limits  of  home  her  hap- 
piest horizon,  a  kindly  gracious  lady,  companion  and  best 
earthly  comfort  of  one  of  the  world's  greatest  men. 

In  February,  1797,  John  Adams  was  elected  President 
of  the  United  States,  to  succeed  President  Washington. 
His  wife,  Abigail  Adams,  was  the  first  wife  of  a  President 
who  ever  presided  at  the  White  House. 

John  Adams  was  born  in  that  portion  of  the  old  town  of 
Braintree,  Mass.,  which  now  is  known  as  Quincy.  He  was 
the  eldest  son  of  a  farmer  of  limited  means.  Like  many 
who  have  become  famous  in  the  history  of  our  country, 
young  John  began  his  practical  life  by  teaching  school,  and 
while  so  engaged  took  up  the  study  of  law.  He  had 
thought  of  becoming  a  clergyman,  but  witnessing  certain 
church  quarrels  in  his  native  town,  he  was,  to  quote  his  own 
words,  "  terrified  out  of  it."  He  would  have  been  glad  to 
enter  the  army,  had  he  possessed  the  influence  to  secure  a 
commission.  That  being  out  of  the  question,  the  law 
seemed  his  only  course,  and  he  applied  himself  with  such 
energy  to  it  that  he  soon  built  up  a  practice  which,  as  he 
considered,  justified  him  in  marrying,  and,  accordingly,  in 
1764,  he  united  himself  with  Abigail  Smith,  the  daughter  of 
a  clergyman  of  Weymouth. 

Previous  to  this,  Adams'  love  affairs  evidently  were 
numerous.  In  1764,  the  year  in  which  he  was  married,  he 
writes  in  his  diary  :  "  I  was  of  an  amorous  disposition,  and 
very  early,  from  ten  to  eleven  years  of  age,  was  very  fond 
of  the  society  of  females.  I  shall  draw  no  characters  nor 
give  any  enumeration  of  my  youthful  flames.  It  would  be 


ONE  OF  AMERICA'S  NOBLEST  WOMEN.  579 

considered  as  no  compliment  to  the  dead  or  the  living.  This 
I  will  say :  they  were  all  modest  and  virtuous  girls,  and 
always  maintained  their  character  through  life.  No  virgin 
or  matron  ever  had  cause  to  blush  at  the  sight  of  or  regret 
her  acquaintance  with  me.  .  .  .  These  reflections,  to  me 
consolatory  beyond  expression,  I  am  able  to  make  with 
truth  and  sincerity  ;  and  I  presume  I  am  indebted  for  this 
blessing  to  my  education." 

His  marriage,  which,  at  the  time  it  took  place,  promised 
to  bring  young  Adams  considerable  worldly  advantage,  his 
wife's  family  connections  being  much  more  prominent  and 
prosperous  than  his  own,  proved  in  every  way  to  be  most 
fortunate,  for  Abigail  Adams  was  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able women  of  the  Revolutionary  period. 

In  exaltation  of  spirit,  and  full  realization  of  the  great 
responsibilities  before  them,  she  received  the  fact  of  her  hus- 
band's elevation  to  the  presidency.  As  devout  as  Deborah, 
her  utterances  at  this  time  were  equally  marked  by  compre- 
hensiveness of  view,  devotion,  and  self-forgetfulness.  "No 
visions  of  personal  finery,  of  fashionable  entertainments  and 
show,  gleam  through  the  grand  utterances  of  this  majestic 
woman.  And  yet  no  pictures  of  the  White  House,  no 
sketches  of  the  social  life  of  her  time,  begin  to  be  as  graphic 
and  frequent,  as  those  of  Abigail  Adams.  Nothing  has 
been  more  quoted  than  her  sketch  of  the  White  House  as 
she  found  it.  She  wrote : 

"  The  house  is  upon  a  grand  and  superb  scale,  requiring 
about  thirty  servants  to  attend  and  keep  the  apartments  in 
proper  order,  and  perform  the  ordinary  business  of  the 
house  and  stables ;  an  establishment  very  well  proportioned 
to  the  President's  salary.  The  lighting  of  the  apartments, 
from  the  kitchen  to  parlours  and  chambers,  is  a  tax  indeed  ; 
and  the  fires  we  are  obliged  to  keep  to  secure  us  from  daily 
agues  is  another  very  cheering  comfort.  To  assist  us  in  this 
great  castle,  and  render  less  attendance  necessary,  bells  are 


580  LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  IN   1800. 

wholly  wanting,  not  one  single  one  being  hung  through  the 
whole  house,  and  promises  are  all  you  can  obtain.  This  is 
so  great  an  inconvenience,  that  I  know  not  what  to  do,  or 
how  to  do. 

"The  ladies  from  Georgetown  and  in  the  city  have 
many  of  them  visited  me.  Yesterday  I  returned  fifteen 
visits, — but  such  a  place  as  Georgetown  appears, — why,  our 
Milton  is  beautiful.  But  no  comparisons ;  —  if  they  will  put 
me  up  some  bells,  and  let  me  have  wood  enough  to  keep 
fires,  I  design  to  be  pleased.  I  could  content  myself  almost 
anywhere  three  months ;  but,  surrounded  with  forests,  can 
you  believe  that  wood  is  not  to  be  had,  because  people  can- 
not be  found  to  cut  and  cart  it!  Briesler1  entered  into  a 
contract  with  a  man  to  supply  him  with  wood.  A  small 
part,  a  few  cords  only,  has  he  been  able  to  get.  Most  of 
that  was  expended  to  dry  the  walls  of  the  house  before  we 
came  in,  and  yesterday  the  man  told  him  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  procure  it  to  be  cut  and  carted.  He  has  had 
recourse  to  coals ;  but  we  cannot  get  grates  made  and  set. 
We  have,  indeed,  come  into  a  new  country. 

"You  must  keep  all  this  to  yourself,  and,  when  asked 
how  I  like  it,  say  that  I  write  you  the  situation  is  beautiful, 
which  is  true.  The  house  is  made  habitable,  but  there  is 
not  a  single  apartment  finished,  and  all  withinside,  except 
the  plastering,  has  been  done  since  Briesler  came.  We  have 
not  the  least  fence,  yard,  or  other  convenience,  without,  and 
the  great  unfinished  audience-room2  I  make  a  drying-room 
of,  to  hang  up  the  clothes  in.  The  principal  stairs  are  not 
up,  and  will  not  be  this  winter." 

Abigail  Adams  is  an  illustrious  example  of  the  grandeur 
of  human  character.  She  proved  in  herself  how  potent  an 
individual  may  be,  and  that  individual  a  woman,  in  spite  of 
caste,  of  sex,  or  the  restrictions  of  human  law  or  condition. 

1  Mrs.  Adams'  man-servant. 

*  The  East  Room  of  the  White  House. 


A  CHARACTER  HEROIC   AND  SPOTLESS.  581 

She  never  went  to  school  in  her  life.  In  a  letter  written  in 
1817,  the  year  before  her  death,  speaking  of  her  own  defi- 
ciencies, she  says :  "  My  early  education  did  not  partake  of 
the  abundant  opportunities  which  the  present  days  offer, 
and  which  even  our  common  country  schools  now  afford. 
I  never  was  sent  to  any  school.  I  was  always  sick.  Female 
education,  in  the  best  families,  went  no  further  than  writ- 
ing and  arithmetic ;  in  some  few  and  rare  instances,  music 
and  dancing." 

She  was  less  than  a  year  the  mistress  of  the  President's 
house,  yet  she  has  lived  ever  since  in  memory  a  grand 
model  to  all  who  succeed  her.  The  daughter  of  a  country 
clergyman,  the  wife  of  a  patriotic  and  ambitious  man, 
whether  she  gathered  her  children  about  her  or  sent  them 
forth  across  stormy  seas,  while  she  left  herself  desolate ; 
whether  she  stood  the  wife  of  the  Republican  Minister 
before  the  haughty  Queen  Charlotte  in  the  stateliest  and 
proudest  court  of  Europe ;  whether  she  presided  in  the 
President's  house  in  the  new  Capital  in  the  wilderness,  or 
wrote  to  statesmen  or  grandchildren  in  her  own  house  in 
Quincy,  she  was  always,  in  prosperity  or  sorrow,  in  youth 
and  in  age,  in  life  and  in  death,  the  regnant  woman,  devout, 
wise,  patriotic,  proud,  humble,  and  loving. 

Her  pictures  of  the  social  life  of  her  time  are  among  the 
most  lively  and  graphic  on  record,  while  in  her  letters  to 
her  son,  to  her  husband,  to  Jefferson,  and  other  statesmen, 
we  find  some  of  the  grandest  utterances  of  the  Revolution- 
ary period.  Cut  off  by  her  sex  from  active  participation  in 
the  struggles  and  triumphs  of  the  men  of  her  time,  not  one 
of  them  would  have  died  more  gladly  and  grandly  than 
she,  for  liberty ;  denied  the  power  of  manhood,  she  made 
the  most  of  the  privileges  of  womanhood.  She  instilled 
into  the  souls  of  her  children  great  ideas ;  she  inspired  her 
husband  by  the  hourly  sight  of  a  grand  example ;  she  gave, 
through  them,  her  life-long  service  to  the  State,  and  she 


582  THE   WIFE   OF   THOMAS   JEFFERSON. 

gave  to  ner  country  and  to  posterity  her  spotless  and  heroic 
memory. 

In  her  portrait,  Stuart  portrays  her  in  a  dainty  and  deli- 
cate lace  cap,  which  softened  without  veiling  her  august 
features.  The  exquisite  lace  ruff  about  the  throat,  the  lace 
shawl  upon  the  shoulders,  all  indicate  the  finest  of  feminine 
tastes,  while  the  broad  brow,  wide  eyes,  keenly-cut  nose, 
firm  chin,  and  slightly-imperious  mouth  proclaim  the  proud 
and  powerful  intellect,  and  the  high  head  the  commanding 
moral  nature  of  the  woman. 

In  1801  John  Adams  was  succeeded  by  his  old  friend  and 
rival  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  third  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  wife  of  Jefferson,  who  before  her  marriage  to 
him  was  Mrs.  Martha  Skelton,  the  widowed  daughter  of  a 
prominent  lawyer  of  Williamsburg,  Ya.,  never  reigned  in 
the  White  House.  She  died  in  her  youth,  and  was  thus  de- 
nied the  honors  that  later  in  life  came  to  her  gifted  husband. 
His  love  for  her  was  the  passion  of  his  life,  and  her  death 
was  to  him  an  irreparable  loss.  He  never  outlived  his  grief. 
His  eldest  daughter,  Martha  Jefferson  Randolph,  many 
years  afterward,  recorded  her  recollections  of  her  mother's 
death  and  her  father's  sorrow.  She  said : 

"  He  nursed  my  poor  mother  in  turn  with  Aunt  Carr 
and  her  own  sister,  sitting  up  with  her  and  administering 
her  medicines  and  drink  to  the  last.  For  four  months  that 
she  lingered,  he  was  never  out  of  calling ;  when  not  at  her 
bedside  he  was  writing  in  a  small  room  which  opened  imme- 
diately at  the  head  of  her  bed.  A  moment  before  the  clos- 
ing scene  he  was  led  from  the  room  almost  in  a  state  of  in- 
sensibility by  his  sister,  Mrs.  Carr,  who,  with  great  difficulty, 
got  him  into  his  library,  where  he  fainted,  and  remained  so 
long  insensible  that  they  feared  he  never  would  revive.  The 
scene  that  followed  I  did  not  witness,  but  the  violence  of  his 
emotion,  when  almost  by  stealth  I  entered  his  room  at 
night,  to  this  day  I  dare  not  trust  myself  to  describe. 


JEFFERSON'S  LOVELY  DAUGHTERS.  583 

"  He  kept  his  room  three  weeks,  and  I  was  never  a  ma 
ment  from  his  side.  He  walked  almost  incessantly  night 
and  day,  only  lying  down  occasionally,  when  nature  was 
completely  exhausted,  on  a  pallet  that  had  been  brought  in 
during  his  long  fainting  fit.  My  aunts  remained  constantly 
with  him  for  some  weeks,  I  do  not  remember  how  many. 
"When  at  last  he  left  his  room,  he  rode  out,  and  from  that 
time  he  was  incessantly  on  horseback,  rambling  about  the 
mountain,  in  the  least  frequented  roads,  and  just  as  often 
through  the  woods.  In  those  melancholy  rambles  I  was  his 
constant  companion,  a  solitary  witness  to  many  a  violent 
burst  of  brief,  the  remembrance  of  which  has  consecrated 
particular  stones  of  that  lost  home  beyond  the  power  of 
time  to  obliterate." 

Ever  after,  Jefferson  lived  in  his  children,  his  grandchil- 
dren, his  books,  and  the  affairs  of  State.  He  had  two 
daughters,  the  only  two  of  his  children  who  survived  to  ma- 
ture life.  One  of  these,  Maria,  who  in  childhood  went  to 
Paris  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Adams,  and  who  was  remark- 
able for  her  beauty  and  the  loveliness  of  her  nature,  died  in 
early  womanhood.  She  was  indifferent  to  her  own  beauty, 
and  almost  resented  the  admiration  which  it  called  forth, 
exclaiming,  "You  praise  me  for  that  because  you  cannot 
praise  me  for  better  things  ! " 

She  set  an  extraordinary  value  upon  talent,  believing 
that  the  possession  of  it  alone  could  make  her  the  worthy 
companion  of  her  father.  She  was  most  tenderly  loved  by 
him,  and  at  the  time  of  her  early  death,  he  wrote  to  his 
friend,  Governor  Page :  "  Others  may  lose  of  their  abund- 
ance ;  but  I,  of  my  want,  have  lost  even  the  half  of  that 
I  had.  My  evening  prospects  now  hang  on  the  slender 
thread  of  a  single  life."  This  "single"  life  was  that  of 
Martha  Jefferson  Randolph.  She  lived  to  be  not  only  the 
comforter  but  the  intellectual  companion  of  her  father. 

Had  Martha  Jefferson  been  less  womanly  and  domestic. 


584         A  PRESIDENT  WHO  BLACKED   HIS   OWN  BOOTS. 

she  might  have  made  herself  famous  as  a  belle,  a  wit,  or  a 
scholar.  Married  at  seventeen,  the  mother  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, seven  of  whom  were  daughters,  the  fine  quality  of  her 
intellect,  and  the  nobility  of  her  soul,  were  all  merged  into  a 
life  spent  in  their  guidance,  and  in  devotion  and  service  to 
her  husband  and  father.  The  mother  of  five  children  at  the 
time  of  her  father's  Inauguration  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  separated  from  Washington  by  a  long  and  fatiguing 
journey,  which  could  only  be  performed  by  coach  and  horse 
travel,  Mrs.  Randolph  never  made  but  two  visits  to  the 
President's  house  during  his  two  terms  of  office.  Her  son, 
James  Madison  Randolph,  was  born  in  the  White  House. 

Jefferson  began  his  Presidency  with  a  certain  ostentation 
of  democracy.  One  of  the  first  declarations  of  his  admin- 
istration was,  "  Levees  are  done  away."  Remembering  what 
importance  was  attached  to  these  assemblies  by  Washington 
and  Adams,  and  what  grand  court  occasions  they  were 
made,  we  can  imagine  the  disapprobation  with  which  this 
mandate  was  received  by  the  belles  of  society.  A  party  of 
these  gathered  in  force,  and,  all  gaily  attired,  proceeded  to 
the  President's  house.  On  his  return  from  a  horseback  ride 
he  was  informed  that  a  large  number  of  ladies  were  in  the 
"levee-room"  waiting  for  him.  Covered  with  dust,  spurs 
on,  and  whip  in  hand,  he  proceeded  to  the  drawing-room. 
Shade  of  Washington !  He  told  them  he  was  glad  to  see 
them,  and  asked  them  to  remain.  We  may  fancy  with  how 
much  delight  these  belles  and  beauties  received  his  polite 
salutations.  They  never  came  again. 

'A  Virginian  accustomed  to  the  service  of  slaves,  as  the 
President  of  the  United  States  Jefferson  blacked  his  own 
boots.  A  foreign  functionary,  a  stickler  for  etiquette,  paid 
him  a  visit  of  ceremony  one  morning,  and  found  him  en- 
gaged in  this  humble  employment.  Jefferson  apologized, 
saying,  that  being  a  plain  man,  he  did  not  like  to  trouble 
his  servants.  The  foreign  grandee  departed,  declaring  that 


OFFENDING  A  PERFUMED  LITTLE  POET.  585 

no  government  could  long  survive  whose  head  was  his  own 
shoe-black.  He  was  fond  of  the  violin.  When  his  paternal 
home  was  burned  he  asked,  "Are  all  the  books  destroyed?" 
"  Yes,  massa,"  was  the  reply,  "  dey  is ;  but  we  saved  de 
fiddle." 

During  his  Presidency  Jefferson  aroused  the  ire  of 
Thomas  Moore,  then  without  fame,  save  in  his  own  country. 
The  President,  from  his  altitude  of  six  feet  twO-and-a-half 
inches,  looked  down  on  the  curled  and  perfumed  little  poet, 
and  spoke  a  word  and  passed  on.  This  indignity  Moore 
never  pardoned,  and  he  went  back  to  lampoon,  not  only 
America,  but  the  President.  One  of  his  attacks  came  into 
the  hands  of  Martha  Jefferson,  who,  deeply  indignant, 
placed  it  before  her  father.  He  broke  into  an  amused  laugh. 
Years  afterwards,  when  Moore's  "Irish  Melodies"  appeared, 
Jefferson,  looking  them  over,  exclaimed, "  Why,  this  is  the 
little  man  who  satirized  me  so !  Why,  he  is  a  poet,  after 
all."  And  from  that  moment  Moore  had  a  place  beside 
Burns  in  Jefferson's  library. 

John  Randolph,  her  father's  political  foe,  said  of  Martha 
Jefferson,  "  She  is  the  sweetest  creature  in  Virginia,"  and 
John  Randolph  believed  that  nothing  "  sweet "  or  even  en- 
durable existed  outside  of  Virginia.  In  adversity  and  sor- 
row, in  poverty  and  trial,  in  age  as  in  youth,  the  steadfast 
sweetness  of  character  and  elevation  of  nature  which  made 
Martha  Jefferson  remarkable  in  prosperity,  shone  forth 
with  transcendent  luster  when  all  external  accessories  had 
fled.  The  daughter  of  a  man  called  a  free-thinker,  she  all 
her  life  was  sweetly,  simply,  devoutly  religious.  In  her  let- 
ters to  her  daughter,  "Septimia,"  she  draws  us  nearer  to 
her  tender  heart  in  its  heavenly  love  and  charity.  This 
daughter,  to  his  latest  breath,  was  to  Jefferson  the  soul  of 
his  soul.  After  his  retirement  she  not  only  entertained  his 
guests,  and  ministered  to  his  personal  comforts,  but  shared 
intellectually  all  his  thoughts  and  studies. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,   CONTINUED  —  THE  MOST  BRIL- 
LIANT SOCIAL  QUEEN  WHO  EVER  REIGNED 
IN  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

A  Famous  Social  Queen  —  Gallants  in  Small-Clothes  and  Queues  —  An 
Indignant  Barber—  "  Little  Jim  Madison"—  "  Dolly  "  Madison's  Gifts 
and  Graces—  "  The  Most  Popular  Person  in  the  United  States"— Her 
Social  Nature  and  Exquisite  Tact  —  Her  Bountiful  Table  —  Ridiculed 
by  a  Foreign  Minister  —  Mrs.  Madison's  Happy  Reply  —  Her  Wonder- 
ful Memory  of  Persons  and  Incidents  —  The  Adventure  of  a  Rustic 
Youth  —  Thrusting  a  Cup  of  Coffee  into  His  Pocket  —  Her  Heroism 
in  the  Hour  of  Danger  —  Fleeing  from  the  White  House  —  Mrs. 
Madison's  Snuff -Box  — "  This  Is  for  Rough  Work  "  and  "  This  Is  My 
Polisher"  —  Two  Plain  Old  Ladies  from  the  West  —  Unusual  Honors 
by  Congress  —  Her  Last  Days  —  Her  Death  and  Burial  —  Singular 
Mistakes  on  Her  Monument. 


Mrs.  Dorothy  Madison,  the  wife  of  James 
Madison,  the  fourth   President  of  the  United 
States,  became  the  first  lady  of  the  land,  she 
inaugurated  a  new  era  of  social  life  in  Wash- 
ington.    The  beneficence  and  brilliancy  of  her 
reign   in  the   White   House  was   never  approached 
before  her  time,  and  has  never  been  equaled  since. 

These  were  the  days  when  elder-bushes  fringed  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue,  and  ladies  whose  chariots  stuck  in  the  mud 
were  cautiously  rescued  by  gallants  in  sheer  ruffles  and 
small-clothes  and  queues.  These  queues,  which  had  to  be  so 
elaborately  dressed  and  powdered,  made  the  barbers  all 
Federalists  in  Jefferson's  administration,  as  the  Democrats 

(586) 


•    • 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DOLLY   MADISON.  589 

wore  short  hair.  One  barber,  who  was  very  indignant  at 
Madison's  nomination,  suddenly  burst  out  while  shaving  a 
Senator : 

"  What  Presidents  we  might  have,  sir !  Look  at  Daggett 
of  Connecticut  and  Stockton  of  New  Jersey,  with  queues  as 
big  as  your  wrist,  and  powdered  every  day,  like  real  gentle- 
men as  they  are !  But  this  little  Jim  Madison,  with  a  queue 
no  larger  than  a  pipe-stem !  Sir,  it  is  enough  to  make  a  man 
foreswear  his  country." 

Washington  Irving,  in  a  letter  written  from  Washington, 
dated  January  13,  1811,  gives  the  following  entertaining 
description  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison : 

"  Mrs.  Madison  is  a  fine,  portly,  buxom  dame,  who  has  a 
smile  and  a  pleasant  word  for  everybody.  Her  sisters,  Mrs. 
Cutts  and  Mrs.  Washington,  are  like  the  two  Merry  Wives 
of  Windsor ;  but  as  to  Jemmy  Madison  —  Ah  !  poor  Jemmy ! 
—  he  is  but  a  withered  little  apple- John." 

It  is  a  rare  combination  of  gifts  and  graces  which  pro- 
duces the  pre-eminent  social  queen,  in  any  era  or  in  any 
sphere.  Mrs.  Madison  seemed  to  possess  them  all.  During 
the  administration  of  her  husband  she  was  openly  declared 
to  be  "  the  most  popular  person  in  the  United  States  " ;  and 
now,  after  the  lapse  of  generations,  after  hosts  of  women? 
bright,  beautiful,  and  admired,  have  lived,  reigned,  died,  and 
are  forgotten,  "  Dolly  Madison "  seems  to  abide,  a  still 
living  and  beloved  presence.  The  house  in  Washington  in 
which  her  old  age  was  spent,  and  from  which  she  passed  to 
heaven,  is  often  pointed  out  to  the  stranger  as  her  abode. 
Her  words  and  deeds  are  constantly  recalled  as  authority, 
unquestioned  and  benign. 

When  she  began  her  reign  in  Washington,  steamboats 
were  the  wonder  of  the  world ;  railroads  and  the  practical 
use  of  electricity  undreamed  of;  turnpike  roads  scarcely 
begun ;  the  stagecoach  slow,  inconvenient,  and  cumbersome. 
The  daughter  of  one  Senator,  who  wished  to  enjoy  the 


590  MRS.    MADISON  AS   PEACEMAKER. 

delights  of  the  new  Capital,  came  500  miles  on  horseback  by 
her  father's  side.  The  wife  of  a  Member  rode  1,500  miles  on 
horseback,  passed  through  several  Indian  settlements,  and 
spent  nights  without  seeing  a  house  in  which  she  could  lodge. 
Under  such  difficulties  did  lovely  women  come  to  Washing- 
ton, and  out  of  such  material  was  blended  the  society  of  that 
conspicuous  era. 

When  Mrs.  Madison  entered  the  President's  house,  the 
strife  between  the  political  parties  was  at  its  highest. 
Washington,  above  all  party,  had  yet  declared  himself  the 
advocate  of  the  unity  and  force  of  the  central  power.  Jef- 
ferson had  been  the  President  of  the  opposition,  wrho  wished 
the  supremacy  of  the  masses  to  overrule  that  of  the  higher 
classes.  On  these  contending  factions  Mrs.  Madison  shed 
equally  the  balm  of  her  benign  nature.  Not  .because  she 
was  without  opinions,  but  because  she  was  without  malignity 
or  rancor  of  spirit.  Born  and  reared  a  "Friend,"  she 
brought  the  troubled  elements  of  political  society  together  in 
the  bonds  of  peace.  She  possessed,  in  preeminent  degree, 
the  power  of  intuitive  adaptation  to  individuals,  however 
diversified  in  character,  and  the  exquisite  tact  in  dealing 
with  them,  which  always  characterizes  the  true  social  queen. 
She  loved  human  beings  and  delighted  in  their  fellowship. 
She  never  forgot  an  old  friend,  and  never  neglected  the 
opportunity  of  making  a  new  one. 

She  banished  from  her  drawing-room  the  stately  forms 
and  ceremonials  which  had  made  the  receptions  of  Mrs. 
Washington  and  Mrs.  Adams  very  elegant  but  very  formal 
affairs.  She  was  always  hospitable,  and  a  table  bountifully 
loaded  was  her  delight  and  pride.  The  abundance  and  size 
of  her  dishes  were  objects  of  ridicule  to  a  Foreign  Minister, 
even  when  she  entertained  as  the  wife  of  Secretary  of  State, 
he  declaring  that  her  entertainments  were  more  like  "  a  har- 
vest-home supper  than  the  entertainment  of  a  Cabinet  Min- 
ister." Mrs.  Madison  replied  to  the  criticism  with  her  usual 


PLAIN  BUT   BOUNTIFUL  FARE.  591 

good-nature  and  good  sense,  —  that,  the  profusion  of  her 
table  was  the  result  of  the  prosperity  of  her  country,  and 
she  must  therefore  continue  to  prefer  Virginia  liberality  to 
European  elegance. 

A  guest  who  shared  the  hospitalities  of  this  bountiful 
table  wrote :  "  The  round  of  beef  of  which  the  soup  is  made 
is  called  '  bouilli.'  It  had  in  the  dish  spices,  and  something 
of  the  sweet  herb  and  earlie  kind,  and  a  rich  gravy.  It  is 
very  much  boiled  and  is  still  very  good.  We  had  a  dish 
with  what  appeared  to  be  cabbage,  much  boiled,  then  cut  in 
long  strings  and  somewhat  mashed ;  in  the  middle  a  large 
ham,  with  the  cabbage  around.  It  looked  like  our  country 
dishes  of  bacon  and  cabbage,  with  the  cabbage  mashed  up 
after  being  boiled  till  sodden  and  turned  dark.  The  dessert 
good :  much  as  usual,  except  two  dishes  which  appeared  like 
apple-pie  in  the  form  of  the  half  of  a  mush-melon,  the  flat 
side  down,  top  creased  deep,  and  the  color  a  dark  brown." 

In  those  days  state  dinners  were  a  tax  on  the  purse  of 
those  who  gave  them.  The  White  House  wagon  was  gotten 
out  early  in  the  morning  to  go  to  Georgetown  to  market, 
and  the  day's  provisions  often  cost  as  much  as  fifty  dollars. 
Even  the  President's  salary  was  scarcely  adequate  to  meet 
the  expense  of  official  entertaining,  as  Jefferson  soon  found, 
to  the  delight  of  his  enemies.  "  He  always  thought,"  said 
a  cynical  contemporary,  "  $25,000  a  great  salary  when  Mr. 
Adams  had  it.  Now  he  will  think  $12,500  enough.  Monti- 
cello  is  not  far  away ;  he  can  easily  send  home  his  clothes  to 
be  washed  and  mended ;  his  servants  he  owns,  and  his  vege- 
tables he  can  bring  from  his  estate." 

Mrs.  Madison  never  forgot  the  name  of  any  person  to 
whom  she  had  been  introduced,  nor  any  incident  connected 
with  any  person  whom  she  knew.  Able  to  summon  these  at 
an  instant's  notice,  she  instinctively  made  each  individual 
who  entered  her  presence  feel  that  he  or  she  was  an  object 
of  especial  interest.  Nor  was  this  mere  society  manners. 


592  AN   EMBARRASSED   RUSTIC. 

Genial  and  warm-hearted,  it  was  her  happiness  to  make 
everybody  feel  as  much  at  ease  as  possible.  This  gentle 
kindness  the  unknown  and  lowly  shared  equally  with  the 
highest  in  worldly  station. 

At  one  of  her  receptions  her  attention  was  called  to  a  rus- 
tic youth  whose  back  was  set  against  the  wall.  Here  he 
stood  as  if-  nailed  to  it,  till  he  ventured  to  stretch  forth 
his  hand  and  take  a  proffered  cup  of  coffee.  Mrs.  Madi- 
son, according  to  her  wont,  wishing  to  relieve  bis  embar- 
rassment, and  put  him  at  his  ease,  walked  up  and  spoke 
to  him.  The  youth,  astonished  and  overpowered,  dropped 
the  saucer,  and  unconsciously  thrust  the  cup  into  his  breeches 
pocket.  "The  crowd  is  so  great,  no  one  can  avoid  being 
jostled,"  said  the  gentle  woman.  "  The  servant  will  bring 
you  another  cup  of  coffee.  Pray,  how  did  you  leave  your 
excellent  mother?  I  had  once  the  honor  of  knowing  her, 
but  I  have  not  seen  her  for  some  years."  Thus  she  talked, 
till  she  made  him  feel  that  she  was  his  friend,  as  well  as 
his  mother's.  In  time,  he  found  it  possible  to  dislodge 
the  coffee  cup  from  his  pocket,  and  to  converse  with  the 
Juno-like  lady  in  a  crimson  turban  as  if  she  were  an  old 
acquaintance. 

Mrs.  Madison  delighted  in  wearing  conspicuous  colors, 
the  very  opposite  of  the  silver  grays  of  a  demure  Quak- 
eress. At  the  Inauguration  ball,  when  Jefferson,  the  out- 
going President,  came  to  receive  Madison,  his  successor, 
Mrs.  Madison  wore  a  rich  robe  of  buff  velvet,  and  a  Paris 
turban  with  a  bird  of  paradise  plume,  with  pearls  on  her 
neck  and  arms.  A  chronicler  of  the  event  says  that  she 
"looked  and  moved  a  queen."  Jefferson  was  all  life  and 
animation,  while  the  new  President  looked  care-worn  and 
pale.  "Can  you  wonder  at  it?"  said  Jefferson.  "My 
shoulders  have  just  been  freed  from  a  heavy  burden — his 
just  laden  with  it." 

Mrs.  Madison  filled  every  hour  of  prosperity  with  the 


MRS.  MADISON'S  HEROISM.  593 

rare  sunshine  of  her  nature.  In  the  hour  of  trial  she  was 
not  found  wanting,  and  in  the  face  of  danger  she  rose  to 
the  dignity  of  heroism.  Her  gallant  stay  in  the  "White 
House,  while  her  husband  had  gone  to  hold  a  council  of 
war  at  the  battle  of  Bladensburg,  is  a  proud  fact  of  our  his- 
tory. The  following  well-known  letter  to  her  sister,  proves 
how  brave  a  woman  was  this  heroine  of  the  President's 

house : 

TUESDAY,  August  23,  1814. 

"Dear  Sister :  —  My  husband  left  me  yesterday  to  join 
General  Winder.  He  enquired  anxiously  whether  I  had  the 
courage  or  firmness  to  remain  in  the  President's  house  until 
his  return,  on  the  morrow,  or  succeeding  day,  and  on  my 
assurance  that  I  had  no  fear  but  for  him  and  the  success  of 
our  army,  he  left  me,  beseeching  me  to  take  care  of  myself 
and  of  the  Cabinet  papers,  public  and  private. 

"  I  have  since  received  two  dispatches  from  him,  written 
with  a  pencil ;  the  last  is  alarming,  because  he  desires  that  I 
should  be  ready  at  a  moment's  warning,  to  enter  my  car- 
riage and  leave  the  city ;  that  the  enemy  seemed  stronger 
than  had  been  reported,  and  that  it  might  happen  that  they 
would  reach  the  city  with  intention  to  destroy  it.  ... 
I  am  accordingly  ready;  I  have  pressed  as  many  Cabinet 
papers  into  trunks  as  to  fill  one  carriage ;  our  private  prop- 
erty must  be  sacrificed,  as  it  is  impossible  to  procure  wagons 
for  its  transportation.  I  am  determined  not  to  go  myself, 
until  I  see  Mr.  Madison  safe,  and  he  can  accompany  me  — 
as  I  hear  of  much  hostility  toward  him.  .  .  .  Disaffec- 
tion stalks  around  us.  My  friends  and  acquaintances  are  all 
gone,  even  Colonel  C.  with  his  hundred  men,  who  were 
stationed  as  a  guard  in  this  enclosure.  .  .  .  French  John 
(a  faithful  domestic)  with  his  usual  activity  and  resolution 
offers  to  spike  the  cannon  at  the  gate,  and  lay  a  train  of 
powder  which  would  blow  up  the  British,  should  they  enter 
the  house.  To  the  last  proposition,  I  positively  objected, 


594  SAVING   THE   PORTRAIT   OF   WASHINGTON. 

without  being  able,  however,  to  make  him  understand  why 
all  advantages  in  war  may  not  be  taken. 

"  Wednesday  morning,  twelve  o'clock.  —  Since  sunrise,  I 
have  been  turning  my  spy-glass  in  every  direction  and 
watching  with  unwearied  anxiety,  hoping  to  discover  the 
approach  of  my  dear  husband  and  his  friends ;  but,  alas,  I 
can  descry  only  groups  of  military  wandering  in  all  direc- 
tions, as  if  there  was  a  lack  of  arms,  or  of  spirits,  to  fight 
for  their  own  firesides. 

"Three  o'clock. — Will  you  believe  it,  my  sister,  we  have 
had  a  battle,  or  a  skirmish,  near  Bladensburg,  and  I  am  still 
here  within  sound  of  the  cannon !  Mr.  Madison  comes  not ; 
may  God  protect  him !  Two  messengers,  covered  with  dust, 
come  to  bid  me  fly;  but  I  wait  for  him  .  .  '.  At  this 
late  hour  a  wagon  has  been  procured ;  I  have  filled  it  with 
the  plate  and  most  valuable  portable  articles  belonging  to 
the  house;  whether  it  will  reach  its  destination,  the  Bank  of 
Maryland,  or  fall  into  the  hands  of  British  soldiery,  events 
must  determine.  Our  kind  friend,  Mr.  Carroll,  has  come  to 
hasten  my  departure,  and  is  in  a  very  bad  humor  with  me 
because  I  insist  on  waiting  until  the  large  picture  of  General 
Washington  is  secured;  and  it  requires  to  be  unscrewed 
from  the  wall.  This  process  was  found  too  tedious  for  these 
perilous  moments;  I  have  ordered  the  frame  to  be  broken 
and  the  canvass  taken  out ;  it  is  done,  and  the  precious  por- 
trait placed  in  the  hands  of  two  gentlemen  of  New  York  for 
safe-keeping.  And  now,  dear  sister,  I  must  leave  this  house 
or  the  retreating  army  will  make  me  a  prisoner  in  it,  by  fill- 
ing up  the  road  I  am  directed  to  take.  When  I  shall  again 
write  to  you,  or  where  I  shall  be  to-morrow,  I  cannot  tell ! " 

On  their  return  to  Washington  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Madison  occupied  what  is  known  as  the  Octagon  House  on 
New  York  Avenue,  between  17th  and  18th  streets,  north- 
west, the  palatial  home  of  Mr.  Tayloe,  while  the  White 


BRILLIANT   SOCIAL   FUNCTIONS.  595 

House  was  being  repaired.  Here  they  entertained  the  hero 
of  New  Orleans,  General  Andrew  Jackson,  and  wife,  and 
many  other  notables  who  visited  Washington  and  were 
entitled  to  such  honor  at  their  hands.  The  Treaty  of 
Ghent  was  signed,  December,  1814,  in  the  circular  room 
on  the  second  floor  over  the  entrance  hall,  which  was  used 
as  the  President's  office  during  their  occupation  of  this 
house. 

The  receptions  given  in  the  East  Eoom,  in  the  winter  of 
1816,  after  the  rebuilding  and  refurnishing  of  the  Executive 
Mansion,  are  said  to  have  been  the  most  resplendent  ever 
witnessed  in  "Washington  up  to  that  time.  At  these  congre- 
gated the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  their  gowns,  the 
Diplomatic  Corps  in  glittering  regalia,  the  Peace  Commis- 
sioners and  the  officers  of  the  late  war  in  full  dress.  Mrs. 
Madison,  in  gorgeous  robes  and  turban  and  bird  of  paradise 
plumes,  presided  with  queenly  grace  upon  these  and  all 
other  occasions. 

At  one  of  these  banquets  Mrs.  Madison  offered  Mr.  Clay 
a  pinch  of  snuff  from  her  own  elegant  box,  taking  one  her- 
self. She  then  put  her  hand  in  her  pocket,  and  taking  out 
a  bandanna,  applied  it  to  her  nose  and  said :  "  Mr.  Clay,  this 
is  for  rough  work,  and  this,'7  touching  the  few  remaining 
grains  of  snuff  with  a  filmy  square  of  lace,  "  is  my  polisher." 
This  anecdote  is  an  emphatic  comment  on  the  change  of 
customs,  even  in  the  most  polished  society.  If  the  wife  of 
the  President,  to-day,  were  to  perpetrate  such  an  act  at  one 
of  her  receptions,  not  even  the  fact  that  it  stands  recorded 
against  the  graceful,  gracious,  and  glorious  Dolly  Madison 
would  save  her  from  the  taunt  of  being  " underbred"  and 
suggestive  of  the  land  of  "  snuff  dippers." 

Another  story  of  Mrs.  Madison  illustrates  the  real  kind- 
ness of  her  heart.  Two  plain  old  ladies  from  the  West,  halt- 
ing in  Washington  for  a  single  night,  yet  most  anxious  to 

behold  the  President's  famous  and  popular  wife  before  their 
33 


59G  TRIALS  OF  MRS.    MADISON'S  LATER   YEARS. 

cb  arture,  meeting  an  old  gentleman  on  the  street,  timidly 
asked  him  to  show  them  the  way  to  the  President's  house. 
Happening  to  be  an  acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Madison,  he  con- 
ducted them  to  the  White  House.  The  President's  family 
were  at  breakfast,  but  Mrs.  Madison  good-naturedly  came 
out  to  them,  wearing  a  dark  gray  dress  with  a  white  apron, 
and  a  linen  handkerchief  pinned  around  her  neck.  Not 
overcome  by  her  plumage,  and  set  at  ease  by  her  welcome, 
when  they  rose  to  depart  one  said:  "  P'rhaps  37ou  wouldn't 
mind  if  I  jest  kissed  you,  to  tell  my  gals  about." 

Mrs.  Madison,  not  to  be  outdone,  kissed  each  of  her 
guests,  who  beamed  through  their  spectacles  with  joy  and 
delight,  and  then  departed. 

Poverty  compelled  Martha  Jefferson  to  part  with  Monti- 
cello  after  her  father's  death,  and  the  same  cruel  foe  forced 
Mrs.  Madison  to  sell  Montpelier  in  her  widowhood. 

A  special  message  of  President  Jackson  to  Congress, 
concerning  the  contents  of  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Madison,  offer- 
ing to  the  government  her  husband's  manuscript  record  of 
the  debates  in  Congress  of  the  convention  during  the  years 
1782-1787,  was  the  means  of  its  being  purchased,  as  a  work 
of  national  interest,  for  the  sum  of  $30,000.  In  a  subsequent 
act  Congress  gave  to  Mrs.  Madison  the  honorary  privilege 
of  copyright  in  foreign  countries.  And  to  further  relieve 
her  embarrassments,  brought  on  her  through  the  reckless 
dissipation  and  prodigality  of  the  son  of  her  first  marriage, 
Payne  Todd,  Congress  purchased  other  manuscripts  of  her 
husband,  paying  her  $20,000  more.  The  degree  of  venera- 
tion in  which  she  was  held  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that 
Congress  conferred  upon  her  the  franking  privilege,  and 
unanimously  voted  her  a  seat  upon  the  Senate  floor  when- 
ever she  honored  it  with  her  presence. 

"Without  experience  in  the  management  of  her  estate  and 
financial  affairs,  and  constantly  harassed  by  the  demands  of 
her  son's  creditors,  she  sacrificed  her  beloved  Montpelier, 


597 

hoping  to  extricate  him  and  save  him  from  a  life  of  dissipa- 
tion. Finding,  however,  that  it  was  a  fruitless  sacrifice  and 
that  she  had  nothing  left  but  the  hallowed  memories  of  her 
happy  life  with  Mr.  Madison,  she  became  much  depressed. 
Her  friends  besought  her  to  return  to  Washington,  where 
she  would  find  congenial  companionship  and  be  spared  the 
pain  of  witnessing  the  inevitable  change  at  Montpelier. 

Through  her  sister's  (Mrs.  Cutts)  family,  she  secured  the 
Cutts  mansion  on  the  corner  of  Lafayette  Square  and  II 
street,  now  the  Cosmos  Club  House.  Here  she  spent  the 
last  twelve  years  of  her  life.  No  eminent  man  retired  from 
service  of  the  State  ever  had  more  public  recognition  and 
honor  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  government  he  had  served 
than  did  this  popular  and  ever-beloved  woman.  Here,  on 
New  Year's  day  and  the  Fourth  of  July,  she  held  public  re- 
ceptions, the  dignitaries  of  the  nation,  after  paying  their 
respects  to  the  President,  passing  directly  to  the  abode  of 
the  venerable  widow  of  tho  Fourth  President  of  the  United 
States  to  pay  their  respects  to  her.  In  her  drawing-room 
political  foes  met  on  equal  ground  and,  for  the  time,  public 
and  private  animosities  were  forgotten  or  ignored. 

"  Never,"  says  "  Uncle  Paul,"  her  colored  servant,  who 
had  lived  with  her  from  boyhood,  "  never  was  a  more  grace- 
fuller  lady  in  a  drawing-room.  We  always  had  our  Wed- 
nesday-evening receptions  in  the  old  Madison  House,  and 
we  had  them  in  style."  Mrs.  Madison's  turbans  were  as 
famous  in  Washington  as  her  snuff-box.  It  is  said  that  she 
expended  $1,000  a  year  in  turbans.  She  wore  them  as  long 
as  she  lived  —  long  after  they  had  ceased  to  be  fashionable. 
"  These  turbans  were  made  of  the  finest  materials  and  trim- 
med to  match  her  various  dresses."  Uncle  Paul  tells  of  one 
of  her  dresses  of  purple  velvet  with  a  long  train  trimmed 
with  wide  gold-lace  and  a  pair  of  gold  shoes.  With  a  white 
satin  dress,  she  wore  a  turban  spangled  with  silver,  and 
silver  shoes.  She  sent  to  Paris  for  all  her  grand  costumes. 


598  LIVING   IN   MEMORIES   OF   THE   PAST. 

Her  tea-parties  and  her  "  loo  "  parties  were  dwelt  upon  with 
approving  accents  by  her  admiring  contemporaries. 

She  died  at  her  home,  on  Lafayette  Square,  Washington, 
Thursday,  July  12,  1849,  holding  her  mental  faculties  unim- 
paired to  the  last.  In  her  later  days,  while  suffering  from 
great  debility,  she  took  extreme  delight  in  having  old  letters 
read  to  her ;  letters  whose  associations  were  so  remote  that 
they  were  unknown  to  all  others,  but  which  brought  back 
her  own  beloved  past.  She  delighted,  also,  in  listening  to 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  —  and  it  was  while  hearing  a  por- 
tion of  the  gospel  of  St.  John  that  she  passed  in  peace  into 
her  last  sleep. 

With  reverent  ceremonies  and  deep  grief  the  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  Washington  cemetery,  but  some  years 
later  it  was  removed  to  its  most  fitting  resting-place  by  the 
side  of  her  husband  at  Montpelier.  There  in  the  Madison 
burying-ground  may  be  seen,  side  by  side,  two  monuments, 
—  one  a  granite  shaft  marked  simply  "  MADISON  " ;  the 
other  a  smaller  obelisk  of  white  marble  on  which  is  carved : 

In 
MEMORY 

of 
Dolley  Payne 

wife  of 
James  Madison 

born 
May  20,  1768 

died 
July  8,  1849. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  a  superfluous  "  e  "  in  the 
name  "  Dolley,"  and  by  a  singular  mistake,  which  finds  its 
counterpart  in  the  error  in  the  inscription  on  Martha  Wash- 
ington's tomb,  the  wrong  date  is  set  down  as  the  day  of  her 
death.  It  should  be  July  12. 


CHAPTEK  XLI. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE  CONTINUED  — SOME  WOMEN  OF 
NOTE  — MEMORABLE  SCENES  AND  ENTER- 
TAINMENTS AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

A  Serene  and  Aristocratic  Woman  —  Entertaining  With  Great  Elegance  — 
Interesting  Incident  in  Mrs.  Monroe's  Foreign  Life  —  Visiting  Madame 
Lafayette  in  Prison  —  Changing  ihe  Mind  of  Blood-Thirsty  Tyrants  — 
Sharing  the  Dungeon  of  Her  Husband  —  An  Opinion  Plainly  Ex- 
pressed— An  Evening  at  the  White  House  —  Creating  a  Sensation  at  a 
Presidential  Reception  —  An  Amusing  but  Untruthful  Picture  —  Dis- 
graceful Condition  of  the  White  House  Surroundings  —  Using  the 
Great  East  Room  for  a  Children's  Play-Room  —  Mrs.  John  Quincy 
Adams  —  Long  and  Lonely  Journeys — Life  in  Russia  —  The  Ladies' 
Costumes  —  Old-Time  Beaux  and  Belles—  "  Smiling  for  the  Presi- 
dency"—An  Ascendant  Star  — A  President  Who  Masked  His  Feel- 
ings—  "My  Wife  Combed  Your  Head" — Calling  on  an  "Iceberg." 


HE  faint  outline  which  we  catch  of  Mrs.  Monroe, 
wife  of  James  Monroe,  the  fifth  President  of  the 
United  States,  is  that  of  a  serene  and  aristocratic 
woman,  too  well  bred  ever  to  be  visibly  moved 
by  anything  —  at  least  in  public.  She  was  Elizabeth 
Kortright,  of  New  York — the  daughter  of  a  retired 
British  officer,  a  belle  who  was  ridiculed  by  her  gay  friends 
for  having  refused  more  brilliant  adorers  to  accept  a  plain 
Member  of  Congress. 

During  Mr.  Monroe's  ministry  to  Paris,  she  was  called 
"la  belle  Americaine"  and  entertained  the  most  stately 
society  of  the  old  regime  with  great  elegance.  The  only  in- 
dividual act  which  has  survived  her  career  as  the  wife  of  the 

(599; 


600  VISITING  MADAME  LAFAYETTE   IN  PRISON. 

American  Minister  to  France,  is  her  visit  to  Madame  La- 
fayette in  prison.  The  indignities  heaped  upon  this  grand 
and  truly  great  woman,  were  hard  to  be  borne  by  an  Ameri- 
can, to  whom  the  very  name  of  Lafayette  was  endeared. 
The  carriage  of  the  American  Minister  appeared  at  the  jail. 
Mrs.  Monroe  was  at  last  conducted  to  the  cell  of  the  ema- 
ciated, suffering  prisoner.  The  Marchioness,  beholding  the 
sympathetic  face  of  a  woman,  sank  at  her  feet,  too  weak  to 
utter  her  joy.  That  very  afternoon  she  was  to  have  been 
beheaded.  Instead  of  the  messenger  commanding  her  to 
prepare  for  the  guillotine,  she  beheld  a  woman  and  a  friend ! 
From  the  first  moment  of  its  existence  the  American  Re- 
public had  prestige  in  France.  Thus  the  visit  of  the  Ameri- 
can ambassadress  had  power  even  to  change  the  purpose  of 
blood-thirsty  tyrants.  Madame  Lafayette  was  liberated  the 
next  morning,  and  she  gladly  accepted  her  own  freedom, 
that  she  might  go  and  share  the  dungeon  of  her  husband. 

With  the  same  quiet  splendor  of  spirit  and  bearing, 
Mrs.  Monroe  reigned  in  the  unfinished  White  House.  She 
mingled  very  little  in  the  society  of  Washington,  and 
secluded  herself  from  the  public  gaze,  except  when  the  duties 
of  her  position  compelled  her  to  appear.  She  loved  silence, 
obscurity,  peace,  not  bustle,  confusion,  or  glare.  Yet,  even 
in  her  courtly  reign,  "the  dear  people"  were  many  and 
strong  enough  to  arise  and  push  on  to  their  rights  in  the 
"  people's  house." 

James  Fenimore  Cooper  has  left  on  record  a  letter  pur- 
porting to  describe  a  state  dinner  and  reception  during  Mr. 
Monroe's  time,  and  any  one  who  has  survived  a  latter-day 
jam  at  the  White  House  will  say  it  is  precisely  what  a 
Presidential  reception  was  in  the  stately  Monroe  day.  Says 
Mr.  Cooper: 

"  The  evening  at  the  White  House,  or  drawing-room,  as 
it  is  sometimes  pleasantly  called,  is  in  fact,  a  collection  of  all 
classes  of  people  who  choose  to  go  to  the  trouble  and  ex- 


A  RECEPTION  IN   MONROE'S  TIME.  601 

pense  of  appearing  in  dresses  suited  to  an  evening  party.  I 
am  not  sure  that  even  dress  is  very  much  regarded,  for  I 
certainly  saw  a  good  many  there  in  boots.  .  .  .  Squeezing 
through  a  crowd,  we  achieved  a  passage  to  a  part  of  the 
room  where  Mrs.  Monroe  was  standing,  surrounded  by  a 
bevy  of  female  friends.  After  making  our  bow  here,  we 
sought  the  President.  The  latter  had  posted  himself  at  the 
top  of  the  room,  where  he  remained  most  of  the  evening, 
shaking  hands  with  all  who  approached.  Near  him  stood 
the  Secretaries  and  a  great  number  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  nation.  Besides  these,  one  meets  here  a  great 
variety  of  people  in  other  conditions  of  life.  I  have  known 
a  cartman  to  leave  his  horse  in  the  street,  and  go  into  the 
reception-room,  to  shake  hands  with  the  President.  He 
offended  the  good  taste  of  all  present,  because  it  was  not 
thought  decent  that  a  laborer  should  come  in  a  dirty  dress 
on  such  an  occasion;  but  while  he  made  a  mistake  in  this 
particular,  he  proved  how  well  he  understood  the  difference 
between  government  and  society." 

It  is  very  doubtful,  however,  if  a  cartman  would  have 
found  it  possible  to  have  paid  his  respects  to  the  first  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Nation  in  such  a  plight.  Such  a  visitor  at 
the  White  House,  to-day,  would  make  a  sensation.  In  spite 
of  the  "  cartman,"  we  read  thai  at  Mrs.  Monroe's  drawing- 
rooms  "  elegance  of  dress  was  absolutely  required."  On  one 
occasion,  Mr.  Monroe  refused  admission  to  a  near  relative, 
who  happened  not  to  have  a  suit  of  small-clothes  and  silk 
hose  in  which  to  present  himself  at  a  public  reception.  He 
was  driven  to  the  necessity  of  borrowing. 

Society  at  Washington  during  the  administration  of 
Monroe  was  essentially  Southern.  Virginia,  proud  of  her 
Presidents,  sent  forth  her  brightest  flowers  to  adorn  the 
court  circle.  The  wealth  of  the  sugar  and  cotton  planters, 
and  of  the  vast  wheat-fields  of  the  agricultural  States, 


602  AN  UNINVITING  EXECUTIVE   MANSION. 

enabled  Southern  Senators  and  Representatives  to  keep 
their  carriages  and  liveried  servants,  and  to  maintain  great 
state.  Dinners  and  suppers  with  rich  wines  and  the  delica- 
cies of  the  season  had  their  persuasive  influence  over  the 
minds  as  well  as  the  appetites  of  the  entertained.  A  few  of 
the  richer  Members  from  the  North  vied  with  Southern 
Members  in  their  style  of  living  and  entertainments  ;  but  so 
inconsiderable  was  their  number,  that  they  furnished  only 
exceptions  to  the  rule. 

When  the  Monroes  entered  the  White  House,  it  had  been 
partly  rebuilt  from  its  burning  in  1814,  but  it  could  boast  of 
few  comforts  and  no  elegance.  The  ruins  of  the  former 
building  lay  in  heaps  about  the  mansion ;  the  grounds  were 
not  fenced,  and  the  street  was  in  such  a  condition  that  it 
was  an  hourly  sight  to  see  four-horse  wagons  "  stalled  "  be- 
fore the  house.  In  the  first  years  of  the  administration  the 
great  East  Room  was  the  play-room  of  Mrs.  Monroe's 
daughters. 

Maria  Hester,  youngest  daughter  of  President  Monroe, 
was  married  during  her  father's  term  to  Samuel  L.  Gouver- 
neur,  wlio  was  a  nephew  of  Mrs.  Monroe.  This  occasion 
was  attended  with  much  pomp  and  ceremony.  Mrs.  Hay, 
the  eldest  daughter,  and  Mrs.  Gouverneur,  assisted  in  dis- 
pensing the  hospitalities  of  the  White  House  and  exercised 
a  favorable  influence  on  Washington  society.  The  court 
circle  in  Monroe's  administration  maintained  the  aristocratic 
spirit  and  elevated  tone  which  had  characterized  the  previ- 
ous administrations.  Its  superiority  was  universally  ac- 
knowledged. 

Maria  Monroe  was  one  day  in  her  father's  office,  during 
his  Presidency,  when  William  H.  Crawford,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  came  in,  urging  something  on  Mr.  Monroe 
which  he  wanted  time  to  consider.  Crawford  insisted  with 
vehemence  on  its  being  done  at  once ;  saying,  at  length,  "  I 
will  not  leave  this  room  until  my  request  is  granted."  "You 


AN  INDIGNANT  AND  BELLIGERANT  PRESIDENT.          603 

will  not ! "  exclaimed  the  President,  starting  up  and  seizing 
the  poker ;  "  you  will  now  leave  the  room  or  you  will  be 
thrust  out."  Crawford  was  not  long  in  making  his  exit. 

After  laying  down  the  burden  of  State  cares,  Monroe 
retired  to  his  home,  Oak  Hill,  Virginia.  He  had  the  society 
of  his  beloved  wife  in  this  pleasant  retreat  for  only  a  few 
years.  Here  she  died  in  September,  1830,  and  her  grave  was 
made  under  the  shade  of  a  large  pine  tree  in  the  garden. 
Her  daughter,  Maria,  was  laid  beside  her  in  1850. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife  the  widower  went  on  a  visit 
to  New  York.  Here  in  his  failing  health  he  was  watched 
with  filial  solicitude  and  tenderness.  As  a  private  citizen  he 
emerged  from  all  his  successive  public  trusts  with  poverty  as 
the  emblem  of  his  purity  and  the  badge  of  all  his  public  hon- 
ors. In  the  death  of  his  devoted  wife  he  realized  that  his 
cup  of  earthly  sorrow  was  full  to  the  brim.  She  had  adorned 
every  public  position  with  enviable  graces  of  person  and 
mind.  She  had  nobly  participated  in  all  his  troubles,  and 
with  her  loss  all  the  hopes  of  his  declining  years  faded  rap- 
idly. He  died  in  New  York  City  in  1831,  aged  73. 

The  portrait  which  Leslie  gives  us  of  Louisa  Catherine 
Johnson,  the  wife  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  son  of  the  second 
President  of  the  United  States,  reminds  us  in  outline  and 
costume  of  the  Empress  Josephine  and  the  Court  of  the  first 
Napoleon. 

She  wears  the  scanty  robe  of  the  period,  its  sparse  out- 
line revealing  the  slender  elegance  of  the  figure,  the  low 
waist  and  short  sleeves  trimmed  with  lace  and  edged  with 
pearls.  One  long  glove  is  drawn  nearly  to  the  elbow,  the 
other  is  held  in  the  hand,  which  droops  carelessly  over  the 
back  of  a  chair.  There  is  a  necklace  around  the  throat. 
Thrown  across  one  shoulder  and  over  her  lap  is  a  mantle  of 
exquisite  lace.  The  close  bands  of  the  hair,  edged  with  a 
few  graceful  curls,  and  fastened  high  at  the  back  with  a  cor- 
onet comb,  reveal  the  classic  outline  of  the  small  head ;  the 


604  REMARKABLE   JOURNEYS   OF   MRS.    ADAMS. 

face  is  oval,  the  features  delicate  arid  vivacious;  the  eyes 
beautiful  in  their  clear,  spiritual  gaze.  This  is  the  portrait 
of  a  President's  Avife,  whose  early  advantages  of  society  and 
culture  far  transcended  those  of  almost  any  other  woman  of 
her  time. 

The  daughter  of  Joshua  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  she  was 
born,  educated,  and  married  in  London.  As  a  bride  she 
went  to  the  court  of  Berlin,  to  which  her  husband  was 
appointed  American  Minister  on  the  accession  of  his  father 
to  the  Presidency.  In  1801  she  went  to  Boston,  to  dwell 
with  her  husband's  people,  but  very  soon  came  to  Washing- 
ton as  the  wife  of  a  Senator.  On  the  accession  of  Madison, 
leaving  her  two  elder  children  with  their  grandparents,  she 
took  a  third,  not  two  years  of  age,  and  embarked  with  her 
husband  for  Russia,  whither  he  went  as  United  States 
Minister. 

Nothing  could  be  more  graphic  than  the  diary  which  she 
kept  on  this  three-months  voyage.  Summer  merged  into 
winter  before  the  little  wave-and-wind-beaten  bark  touched 
that  inhospitable  shore.  The  first  American  Minister  to 
Russia,  Mr.  Adams  lived  in  St.  Petersburg  for  six  years, 
"poor,  studious,  ambitious,  and  secluded."  Happily  for 
him,  his  wife  possessed  mental  and  spiritual  resources  which 
lifted  her  above  all  dependence  on  conventional  attention 
from  the  world,  and  made  her  in  every  respect  the  meet 
companion  of  a  scholar  and  patriot. 

In  the  wake  of  furious  war,  through  storm  and  snow- 
drifts, through  a  country  ravaged  by  passion  and  strife,  she 
traveled  alone,  with  her  little  child,  from  St.  Petersburg  to 
Paris,  whither  she  went  to  meet  her  husband.  Here  she 
witnessed  the  storm  of  delight  which  greeted  Napoleon  on 
his  return  from  Elba.  Mr.  Adams  was  appointed  Minister 
to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  after  a  separation  of  six 
years  Mrs.  Adams  was  reunited  to  her  children. 

In  1817,  Mr.  Monroe,  on  his  accession  to  the  Presidency, 


THE  FAMOUS  BALL  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.      G05 

immediately  appointed  John  Quincy  Adams  Secretary  of 
State,  and  Mrs.  Adams  returned  with  him  to  Washington. 
For  eight  years  she  was  the  elegant  successor  of  Mrs.  Madi- 
son, who  filled  the  same  position  with  so  much  distinction. 
No  one  was  excluded  from  her  house  on  account  of  political 
hostility  —  all  sectional  bitterness  and  party  strife  were  ban- 
ished from  her  drawing-rooms. 

As  the  wife  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mrs.  Adams  gave 
a  magnificent  ball,  the  fame  of  which  still  lives  in  history. 
It  was  given  January  8,  1824,  in  commemoration  of  General 
Jackson's  victory  at  New  Orleans.  At  this  celebrated  enter- 
tainment the  belles  appeared  in  the  full  dress  of  the  period, 
when  the  dress  waist  ended  just  under  the  arms,  and  its 
depth,  front  and  back,  was  not  over  three  or  four  inches. 
The  skirts,  narrow  and  plain,  were  terminated  by  a  flounce 
just  resting  on  the  floor.  The  gloves  reached  to  the  elbow, 
and  were  of  such  fine  kid  that  they  were  often  imported  in 
the  shell  of  an  English  walnut.  Slippers  and  silk  stockings 
of  the  color  of  the  dress  were  worn,  with  gay  ribbons  crossed 
and  tied  over  the  instep.  The  hair  was  combed  high,  fast- 
ened with  a  tortoise-shell  comb  — the  married  ladies  wearing 
ostrich  feathers  and  turbans.  While  the  belles  were  thus 
attired,  their  beaux  were  decked  in  blue  coats,  with  gilt  but- 
tons, white  or  buff  waistcoats,  white  neckties  and  high 
"  chokers,"  silk  stockings,  and  pumps. 

At  this  ball  Daniel  "Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun  were 
conspicuous  in  this  dress.  General  Jackson,  with  Mrs. 
Adams  on  his  arm,  made  the  central  figure  of  the  assembly. 
Mrs.  Adams  wore  "  a  suit  of  steel."  The  dress  was  composed 
of  steel-colored  llama-cloth ;  her  ornaments  for  head,  throat, 
and  arms  were  all  of  cut  steel,  producing  a  dazzling  effect. 
General  Jackson's  entire  devotion  to  her  during  the  evening 
was  the  subject  of  comment.  After  the  manner  of  to-day, 
it  was  declared  that  he  was  "  smiling  for  the  Presidency." 
He  was  the  lion  of  the  evening.  All  the  houses  of  the  first 


606  FRIGID   MANNER  OF  MR.    ADAMS. 

ward  were  illuminated  in  his  honor.  Bonfires  made  the 
streets  light  as  day,  and  the  "  sovereign  people  "  shouted  his 
name  and  fame.  That  night  fixed  his  presidential  star  in 
the  ascendancy. 

Through  fiery  opposition,  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
elected  President.  From  the  time  she  became  mistress  of 
the  President's  house,  failing  health  inclined  Mrs.  Adams  to 
seek  seclusion,  but  she  still  continued  to  preside  at  public  re- 
ceptions. Her  vivacity  and  pleasing  manner  did  much  to 
warm  the  chill  caused  by  Mr.  Adams'  apathy  or  apparent 
coldness.  Those  who  knew  him  declared  that  he  had  the 
warmest  heart  and  the  deepest  sympathies,  but  he  had  an 
unfortunate  way  of  hiding  them.  It  is  told  that  when  he 
was  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  his  friends  persuaded  him 
to  go  to  a  cattle-show.  Among  the  persons  who  ventured 
to  address  him  was  a  respectable  farmer,  who  impulsively 
exclaimed :  "  Mr.  Adams,  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you.  My 
wife,  when  she  was  a  gal,  lived  in  your  father's  family ;  you 
were  then  a  little  boy,  and  she  has  often  combed  your 
head." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Adams,  in  a  harsh  voice,  "I  suppose 
she  combs  yours  now." 

The  poor  farmer  slunk  back  discomfited.  If  he  gave 
John  Quincy  Adams  his  vote  he  was  more  magnanimous 
than  the  average  citizen  of  to-day  would  be  to  so  rude  a 
candidate. 

A  gentleman  who  was  soliciting  contributions  to  a 
worthy  object  among  officers  of  high  rank  in  the  govern 
ment  found  little  encouragement.  He  was  recommended  to 
call  on  Mr.  Adams.  "  On  that  iceberg! "  he  exclaimed,  "  it 
would  be  folly."  However,  he  finally  went  to  see  Mr. 
Adams.  He  looked  over  the  paper,  took  out  his  pocket- 
book,  and  handed  the  young  man,  in  silence,  two  notes  of 
twenty  dollars  each. 

A  writer  of  her  time  speaks  of  Mrs.  Adams'  "  enchant- 


A   DISTINGUISHED   GUEST.  607 

ing,  elegant,  and  intellectual  regime"  declaring  that  it  should 
give  tone  to  the  whole  country.  Her  fine  culture,  intellec- 
tual tastes,  and  charming  social  qualities,  combined  to  attract 
about  her  a  circle  of  distinguished  women. 

Mrs.  Adams  was  the  "  lady  of  the  White  House "  when, 
in  1825,  Lafayette  visited  the  United  States,  and,  at  the  invi- 
tation of  the  President,  spent  the  last  weeks  of  his  stay  at 
the  Executive  Mansion,  from  which,  on  the  seventh  of  Sep- 
tember, he  bade  his  pathetic  farewell  to  the  land  of  his 
adoption. 

John  Adams,  second  son  of  John  Quincy  and  Mrs. 
Adams,  married  his  cousin,  February,  1828,  in  the  Blue 
Eoom.  Four  bridesmaids  were  in  attendance,  and  a  round 
of  festivities  followed  the  wedding. 

Mrs.  Adams  died  May  14,  1852,  and  was  buried  beside 
her  husband  in  the  family  burying-ground  at  Quincy, 
Massachusetts. 


CHAPTEE  XLII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  CONTINUED  -  PRESIDENTS'  WIVES 

WHO  NEVER  ENTERED  THE  EXECUTIVE 

MANSION. 

President  Andrew  Jackson  and  Mrs.  Rachel  Robards  — The  Story  of  Jack- 
son's Courtship  —  An  Innocent  Mistake  —  Jackson's  Resentful  Dispo- 
sition—  His  Morbid  Sensitiveness  About  His  Wife's  Reputation  — 
"  Do  You  Dare,  Villain,  To  Mention  Her  Sacred  Name  ?  "  —  His  Duel 
with  Governor  Sevier  —  A  Tragical  Experience  —  Kills  Charles  Dick- 
inson in  a  Duel  —  Mrs.  Jackson's  Piety — Her  Influence  Over  Her 
Husband  —  His  Profanity  and  Quick  Temper  —  Her  Unwillingness  To 
Preside  at  the  White  House  — An  Arrow  that  Pierced  Her  Heart  — 
He  Enters  the  White  House  a  Widower  — Faithful  to  Her  Memory  — 
Children  Born  in  the  White  House  — The  Story  of  a  Baby  Curl  — 
"Try  Him  in  Irish,  Jimmy"  —  An  Astonished  Minister  — The  Wife 
of  President  Van  Buren  — The  Wife  of  President  William  Henry 
Harrison. 


NDREW  JACKSON  was  the  presidential  suc- 
cessor of  John  Quincy  Adams.  His  wife,  who 
was  Mrs.  Rachel  Robards  when  Jackson  first 
met  her,  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  John  Donel- 
son  of  Virginia,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Tennessee, 
after  whom  was  named  Fort  Donelson,  captured 
by  General  Grant  the  second  year  of  the  Civil  War.  Mrs. 
Jackson  never  entered  the  President's  house,  for  she  had 
passed  from  earth  before  her  husband  became  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Nation.  Yet  it  is  doubtful  if  the  wife  of 
any  other  President  ever  exerted  so  powerful  and  positive 
an  influence  over  an  administration  in  life  as  did  Mrs.  Jack- 
son after  death.  Born  and  reared  on  the  frontiers  of  civili- 

(608) 


THE   WOMAN    WHO   RULED   ANDREW  JACKSON.  600 

zation,  her  educational  advantages  had  been  but  scanty,  and 
she  never  mastered  more  than  the  simplest  rudiments  of 
knowledge.  Yet,  looking  on  her  pictured  face,  it  is  easy  to 
fathom  and  define  the  power  which,  through  life  and 
beyond  the  grave,  held  in  sweet  abeyance  the  master-will  of 
her  husband.  It  was  a  power  purely  womanly  —  the  affec- 
tional  force  of  a  woman  of  exalted  moral  nature  and  deep 
affections.  It  was  impossible  that  such  a  woman  should  use 
arts  to  win  love,  and  equally  impossible  that  she  should  riot 
be  loved.  Men  would  love  her  instinctively,  through  the 
best  and  highest  in  their  natures. 

Andrew  Jackson,  or  "  Andy,"  as  he  was  commonly 
called,  was  twenty-four  when  he  married  Mrs.  Robards. 
She  and  her  first  husband  were  boarding  with  her  mother, 
Mrs.  Donelson,  then  a  widow,  when  Jackson  became  a 
boarder  under  the  same  roof.  Mrs.  Robards'  husband,  sus- 
picious and  morose,  was  needlessly  jealous  of  her,  and  made 
her  very  unhappy.  Jackson  was  fond  of  her  society, 
though  he  in  no  manner  passed  the  boundaries  of  the  most 
conventional  decorum.  Her  husband  believed,  or  pretended 
to  believe,  that  Jackson  was  his  wife's  lover,  and  applied  to 
the  legislature  for  an  act  preliminary  to  divorce.  Jackson 
and  Mrs.  Robards  supposed  the  act  itself  a  divorce,  and  they 
were  married  two  years  before  the  divorce  was  allowed. 

This  innocent  mistake  (they  were  married  again  as  soon 
as  it  was  discovered)  was  the  source  of  endless  annoyance 
and  sorrow  to  them  both.  To  the  day  of  Jackson's  death 
he  was  so  sensitive  and  fiery  on  the  subject  that,  if  any  man 
hinted  at  any  impropriety  in  their  relations,  he  at  once 
called  the  slanderer  to  account.  Indeed,  he  was  little  less 
than  a  monomaniac  in  regard  to  Jiis  wife.  Several  of  his 
most  savage  conflicts  grew  directly  or  indirectly  out  of 
what  he  believed  to  be  reflections  on  her  fair  fame.  If 
ever  a  man  was  madly  in  love  that  man  was  Andrew  Jack- 
son. He  fancied  his  wife  to  be  a  goddess,  an  angel,  a  saint, 


610  A  GENEROUS   FRIEND   AND   DEADLY   FOE. 

and  he  wanted  to  kill  anybody  who  dared  express  any  other 
opinion.  His  resentful  disposition  kept  him  alert  for  the 
slightest  insinuation  against  her. 

Much  of  Jackson's  early  life  in  Tennessee  was  spent  in 
fighting  the  Indians  and  his  private  enemies,  of  whom  he 
always  had  a  host.  He  was  one  of  the  most  irascible  and 
pugnacious  of  mortals,  and  his  ire,  aroused  by  the  slightest 
cause,  was  deadly.  Possessed  of  many  generous  and  noble 
qualities,  he  was  often  in  his  resentments  no  better  than  a 
madman.  When  he  was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court  of  Tennessee,  John  Sevier  was  governor.  They  had 
quarreled,  and  Jackson  had  challenged  the  governor,  who 
had  declined  the  challenge.  Still  on  bad  terms,  they  met 
one  day  in  the  streets  of  Knoxville,  and  after  exchanging  a 
few  words,  Sevier  made  some  slighting  allusion  to  Mrs. 
Jackson.  Her  husband  roared  out,  "  Do  you  dare,  villain, 
to  mention  her  sacred  name  ? "  Drawing  a  pistol,  he  fired 
at  the  governor,  who  returned  the  shot.  They  fired  again, 
ineffectually,  and  then  bystanders  interfered.  Not  long 
after,  they  encountered  one  another  on  horseback  on  the 
road,  each  accompanied  by  a  friend.  Again  they  shot  at 
one  another,  and  murder  would  have  followed,  had  not 
some  travelers,  who  had  chanced  to  come  up,  separated  the 
combatants.  Jackson  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  dead 
shot ;  but  he  frequently  missed  his  man,  owing  to  his  being 
unnerved  by  the  excitement  of  the  occasion. 

One  of  the  most  tragical  of  his  experiences  was  his  duel, 
some  years  before,  with  Charles  Dickinson,  who  had  com- 
mitted the  unpardonable  sin  of  commenting  freely  on  Mrs. 
Jackson.  They  had  had  several  disagreements,  and  Jack- 
son finally  spoke  of  Dickinson  in  so  violent  a  manner  that 
his  language  was  repeated,  as  the  General  wished  it  should 
be,  to  the  man  himself.  Thereupon  Dickinson,  who  was 
about  to  start  for  New  Orleans,  wrote  Jackson  a  letter, 
denouncing  him  as  a  liar  and  a  coward.  On  his  return, 


JACKSON'S  DUEL  WITH  DICKINSON.  611 

Jackson  challenged  him,  and  they  met  on  the  banks  of  the 
Red  River  in  Logan  county,  Kentucky,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  May  30,  1806.  Dickinson  got  first  fire,  breaking  a 
rib,  and  making  a  serious  wound  in  the  breast  of  his  oppo- 
nent, who  showed  no  sign  of  having  been  hit.  He  had  felt 
sure  of  killing  his  antagonist,  and  exclaimed,  "  Great  God ! 
have  I  missed  him  ? " 

Jackson,  then  taking  deliberate  aim,  pulled  the  trigger, 
but  the  weapon  did  not  explode.  It  stopped  at  half-cock. 
He  cocked  it  fully,  and  again  calmly  and  carefully  leveling 
it,  fired.  The  bullet  passed  through  Dickinson's  body,  just 
above  the  hips ;  he  fell,  and  died  that  night  after  suffering 
terrible  agony.  Jackson  never  recovered  from  the  hurt, 
and  never  expressed  the  least  remorse  for  what  many  per- 
sons pronounced  a  cold-blooded  murder.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  kill  Dickinson.  Any  man 
who  had  spoken  discreditably  of  Mrs.  Jackson  had,  in  his 
opinion,  forfeited  the  right  to  live. 

Rachel  Jackson  was  a  woman  of  deep  personal  piety, 
and  she  longed  for  nothing  so  much  as  the  time  when 
her  husband  would  be  done  with  political  honors,  as 
he  had  assured  her  that  then,  and  not  till  then,  could 
he  "  be  a  Christian."  The  following  anecdote  illustrates 
the  profound  influence  she  held  over  the  moral  nature  of 
her  husband. 

An  intimate  friend  of  Mrs.  Jackson  was  on  a  visit  to 
the  Hermitage.  Mrs.  Jackson  talked  to  him  of  religion  and 
said  the  General  was  disposed  to  be  religious ;  that  she 
believed  he  would  join  the  church  were  it  not  for  the  com- 
ing presidential  election,  but  his  head  was  now  full  of  poli- 
tics. While  they  were  conversing,  the  General  came  in 
with  a  newspaper  in  his  hand,  to  which  he  referred  as 
denouncing  his  mother  as  a  camp  follower.  "This  is  too 
bad !  "  he  exclaimed,  rising  into  a  passion  and  swearing 

terribly.     His  wife  approached  him,  and  looking  him  in 
34 


612  SLANDER'S  POISONED  ARROW, 

the  face,  simply  said,  "  Mr.  Jackson  !  "     He  was  subdued  in 
an  instant,  and  did  not  utter  another  oath. 

In  the  same  presidential  contest  this  gentle  being  did 
not  herself  escape  calumny.  When  her  husband  was 
elected  President  of  the  United  States,  she  said  :  "  For  Mr. 
Jackson's  sake,  I  am  glad  ;  for  my  own,  I  never  wished  it." 
To  an  intimate  friend  she  said  in  all  sincerity  :  "  I  assure 
you  I  would  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my 
God  than  to  dwell  in  that  palace  in  Washington."  Dearer 
to  her  heart  was  the  Hermitage,  with  the  little  chapel  built 
by  her  husband  for  her  own  especial  use,  than  all  the  pros- 
pective pomp  of  the  President's  house. 

She  was  a  mother  to  every  servant  on  the  estate,  and 
being  anxious  to  make  everyone  comfortable  during  her 
anticipated  absence  in  Washington,  she  made  numerous 
journeys  to  Nashville,  to  purchase,  for  those  left  behind, 
their  winter  supplies.  Worn  out  after  a  day's  shopping,  she 
went  to  the  parlor  of  the  Nashville  Inn  to  rest.  While  she 
waited  there  for  the  family  coach  which  was  to  convey  her 
to  the  Hermitage,  she  heard  her  own  name  spoken  in  the 
adjoining  room.  She  was  compelled  to  hear,  while  she  sat 
there,  pale  and  smitten,  the  false  and  cruel  calumnies 
against  herself  which  had  so  recklessly  been  used  during  the 
campaign  to  defeat  her  husband,  and  which  he  had  zealously 
excluded  from  her  sight  in  the  newspapers.  Here  the  poi- 
soned arrow  came  back  from  the  misfortune  of  her  youth, 
when  she  married  a  man  intellectually  and  morally  her 
inferior,  and  it  entered  her  gentle  heart  too  deep  to  be  with- 
drawn. She  returned  to  the  Hermitage,  and  was  soon  after 
seized  with  a  spasmodic  affection  of  the  heart,  which  termi- 
nated in  death. 

In  Parton's  "  Life  of  Andrew  Jackson,"  we  find  this 
account  of  Mrs.  Jackson's  last  days.  The  detail  of  the  facts, 
he  states,  were  given  him  by  "  Hannah,"  her  faithful  serv- 
ant, in  whose  arms  she  died  after  an  illness  of  seven  days, 


AGONIZING  DEATH   OF  MRS.    JACKSON.  613 

during  which  time   everything  was  done  that  skilled  and 
loving  hands  could  do,  but  without  avail. 

"  It  was  a  Wednesday  morning,  December  17.  All  was 
going  on  as  usual  at  the  Hermitage.  The  General  was  in 
the  fields,  at  some  distance  from  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Jack- 
son, apparently  in  tolerable  health,  was  occupied  in  her 
household  duties.  Old  Hannah  asked  her  to  come  into  the 
kitchen  to  give  her  opinion  upon  some  article  of  food  that 
was  in  course  of  preparation.  She  performed  the  duty 
required  of  her,  and  returned  to  her  usual  sitting-room,  fol- 
lowed by  Hannah.  Suddenly  she  uttered  a  horrible  shriek, 
placed  her  hands  upon  her  heart,  sunk  into  a  chair,  strug- 
gling for  breath,  and  fell  forward  into  Hannah's  arms. 
There  were  only  servants  in  the  house,  many  of  whom  ran 
frantically  in,  uttering  the  loud  lamentations  with  which 
Africans  are  wont  to  give  vent  to  their  feelings.  The 
stricken  lady  was  placed  upon  her  bed,  and  while  messen- 
gers hurried  away  for  assistance,  Hannah  emplpyed  the  only 
remedies  she  knew  to  relieve  the  anguish  of  her  mistress. 

"  No  relief.  She  writhed  in  agony.  She  fought  for 
breath.  The  General  came  in,  alarmed  beyond  description. 
The  doctor  arrived.  Mrs.  A.  J.  Donelson  hurried  in  from 
her  house  near  by.  The  Hermitage  was  soon  filled  with 
near  relatives,  friends,  and  servants.  "With  short  intervals 
of  partial  relief,  Mrs.  Jackson  continued  to  suffer  all  that  a 
woman  could  suffer  for  the  space  of  sixty  hours ;  during 
which  time  her  husband  never  left  her  bed-side  for  ten  min- 
utes. On  Friday  evening  she  was  much  better,  was  almost 
free  from  pain,  and  breathed  with  far  less  difficulty.  The 
first  use,  and  indeed,  the  only  use  she  made  of  her  recovered  ^ 
speech  was  to  protest  to  the  General  that  she  was  quite 
well,  and  to  implore  him  to  go  to  another  room  and  sleep, 
and  by  no  means  to  allow  her  indisposition  to  prevent  his 
attending  the  banquet  on  the  23d.  She  told  him  that  the 
day  of  the  banquet  would  be  a  very  fatiguing  one,  and  he 


614  THE   SAINT   OF   THE   PRESIDENT'S   HOME. 

must  not  permit  his  strength  to  be  reduced  by  want  of 
sleep. 

"  Still  the  General  would  not  leave  her.  He  distrusted 
this  sudden  relief.  Jle  feared  it  was  the  relief  of  torpor  or 
exhaustion,  and  the  more  as  the  remedies  prescribed  by  Dr. 
Hogg,  the  attending  physician,  had  not  produced  their 
designed  effect.  Saturday  and  Sunday  passed,  and  still  she 
lay  free  from  serious  pain,  but  weak  and  listless  ;  the  Gen- 
eral still  her  watchful,  constant,  almost  sleepless  attendant. 
"  On  Monday  evening,  the  evening  before  the  23d,  her 
disease  appeared  to  take  a  decided  turn  for  the  better;  and 
she  then  so  earnestly  entreated  the  General  to  prepare  for 
the  fatigues  of  the  morrow  by  having  a  night  of  undisturbed 
sleep,  that  he  consented  at  last  to  go  into  an  adjoining  room 
and  lie  down  upon  a  sofa.  The  doctor  was  still  in  the  house. 
Hannah  and  George  were  to  sit  up  with  their  mistress. 

"At  9  o'clock  the  General  bade  her  good-night,  went  into 
the  next  room  and  took  off  his  coat,  preparatory  to  lying 
down.  He  had  been  gone  about  five  minutes.  Mrs.  Jackson 
was  then,  for  the  first  time,  removed  from  her  bed  that  it 
might  be  rearranged  for  the  night.  While  sitting  in  a  chair 
supported  in  the  arms  of  Hannah,  she  uttered  a  long,  loud 
inarticulate  cry,  which  was  immediately  followed  by  a  rat- 
tling noise  in  the  throat.  Her  head  fell  forward  upon  Han- 
nah's shoulder.  She  never  spoke  nor  breathed  again." 

The  grief  of  her  husband  amounted  to  agony.  His 
anguish  seemed  too  intense  to  be  endured,  but  he  lived  to 
worship  her  memory  and  defend  her  name  for  many  years. 

"With  the  wound  of  his  loss  fresh  and  bleeding,  President 
Jackson  entered  upon  his  high  office.  Thus  in  death  Kachel 
Jackson  became  the  tutelary  saint  of  the  President's  house. 
Wherever  he  went  he  wore  her  miniature.  No  matter  what 
had  been  the  duties  or  pleasures  of  the  day,  when  the  man 
came  back  to  himself,  and  to  his  lonely  room,  her  Bible  and 
her  picture  took  the  place  of  the  beloved  face  and  tender 


PORTRAIT   OF   MRS.    JACKSON.  615 

presence  which  had  been  the  one  charm  and  love  of  his 
heroic  life. 

No  other  portrait  of  a  President's  wife  looks  down  upon 
posterity  with  so  winsome  and  innocent  a  gaze  as  that  of 
Rachel  Jackson.  A  cap  of  soft  lace  surmounts  the  dark 
curls  which  cluster  about  her  forehead  and  fall  like  a  veil 
over  her  shoulders.  The  full  lace  ruffle  around  her  neck  is  not 
fastened  with  even  a  brooch,  and,  save  the  long  pendants  in 
her  ears,  she  wears  no  ornaments.  Her  throat  is  massive, 
her  lips  full  and  sweet  in  expression,  her  brow  broad  and 
rounded,  her  eye-brows  arching  above  a  pair  of  large,  liquid, 
gazelle-like  eyes,  whose  soft,  womanly  outlook  is  sure  to  win 
and  to  disarm  the  beholder.  This  remarkable  loveliness  of 
spirit  and  person  was  the  source  of  fatal  sorrow  to  Rachel 
Jackson.  It  won  her  reverence,  amounting  almost  to  adora- 
tion, but  it  made  her  also  the  victim  of  jealousy,  envy,  and 
malice.  These  made  the  shadows  over  her  whole  life,  not- 
withstanding the  wealth  of  love  showered  upon  her. 

Probably  into  no  other  administration  of  the  government, 
from  its  first  to  the  present,  has  personal  feeling  had  so 
much  to  do  with  official  appointments  as  in  the  offices  emp- 
tied and  filled  by  Andrew  Jackson.  He  had  only  to  suspect 
that  a  man  had  failed  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  beloved 
Rachel,  and  his  unlucky  official  head  immediately  came  off. 
It  was  told  him  that  Mr.  Watterson,  the  Librarian  of  Con- 
gress, had  told  or  listened  to  something  to  the  detriment  of 
Mrs.  Jackson,  and  Mr.  "Watterson  was  immediately  deposed. 
Though  she  was  avenged  at  times  in  acts  of  personal 
injustice,  in  her  own  pure  tones  she  spoke  through  him 
in  all  the  higher  acts  of  his  administration.  Thus  it  was  in 
spirit  that  Rachel  Jackson  lived  and  reigned  at  the  "White 
House. 

Emily  Donelson,  wife  of  Andrew  Jackson  Donelson,  Mrs. 
Jackson's  nephew  and  adopted  son,  with  Mrs.  Andrew  Jack- 
son, Jr.,  the  wife  of  another  adopted  son,  shared  together  the 


616  BEAUTIFUL    EMILY   DONELSON. 

social  honors  of  the  White  House  during  the  administration 
of  President  Jackson.  The  delicate  question  of  precedence 
between  them  was  thus  settled  by  him.  He  said  to  Mrs. 
Jackson :  "  You,  my  dear,  are  mistress  of  the  Hermitage, 
and  Emily  is  hostess  of  the  White  House.'5 

Emily  Donelson  was  of  remarkable  beauty.  Her  man- 
ners were  of  singular  fascination,  and  she  dressed  with 
exquisite  taste.  The  dress  she  wore  at  the  first  inaugura- 
tion is  still  preserved.  It  is  of  amber  satin  brocaded  with 
bouquets  of  rose-leaves  and  violets,  trimmed  with  white  lace 
and  pearls.  It  was  a  present  from  General  Jackson,  and 
even  at  that  day,  before  the  "  society  column "  became  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  newspapers,  was  described  in  every 
paper  of  the  Union.  General  Jackson  always  called  her 
"my  daughter."  She  was  the  child  of  Mrs.  Jackson's 
brother,  and  married  to  her  cousin.  She  was  quick  at  rep- 
artee, and  possessed  the  rare  gift  of  being  able  to  listen 
gracefully.  A  foreign  Minister  once  said :  "  Madame,  you 
dance  with  the  grace  of  a  Parisian.  I  can  hardly  realize 
that  you  were  educated  in  Tennessee." 

"  Count,  you  forget,"  was  the  spirited  reply,  "  that  grace 
is  a  cosmopolite,  and,  like  a  wild  flower,  is  found  oftener  in 
the  woods  than  in  the  streets  of  a  city." 

Her  four  children  were  born  in  the  "White  House.  But 
in  the  midst  of  its  honors,  in  the  flower  of  her  youth,  "  the 
lovely  Emily  "  went  out  from  its  portals  to  die.  She  sought 
the  softer  airs  of  "Tulip  Grove,"  her  home  in  Tennessee, 
where  she  died  of  consumption,  December,  1836. 

It  is  related  that  when  the  corner-stone  of  the  Treasury 
building  was  laid,  Andrew  Jackson  was  asked  to  supply 
some  special  memento,  and  he  complied  by  clipping  a  lock 
from  the  head  of  baby  Mary  Donelson.  When  little  Mary 
was  christened,  both  Houses  of  Congress  were  invited,  and 
the  ceremony  took  place  in  the  East  Room,  the  President 
holding  her  in  his  arms;  Martin  Yan  Buren  stood  god- 


A  FAMILY   GROUP  AT   THE   WHITE  HOUSE.  61? 

father,  while  Cora  Livingston,  daughter  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  the  belle  and  beauty  of  the  administration,  offi- 
ciated as  godmother.  Years  after  there  came  to  Washing- 
ton a  widowed  and  saddened  woman,  who  was  glad  to 
accept  a  clerkship  in  the  great  department  whose  corner- 
stone holds  her  sunny  baby  curl.  She  did  her  work  there 
nobly,  educating  her  family  through  her  own  earnings  as 
clerk. 

A  lady  gives  the  following  picture  of  an  evening  scene 
at  the  White  House,  in  the  early  part  of  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration : 

"  The  large  parlor  was  scantily  furnished ;  there  was 
light  from  the  chandelier,  and  a  blazing  fire  in  the  grate ; 
four  or  five  ladies  sewing  around  it ;  Mrs.  Donelson,  Mrs. 
Andrew  Jackson,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Edward  Livingston.  Five  or  six 
children  wTere  playing  about,  regardless  of  documents  or 
work-baskets.  At  the  farther  end  of  the  room  sat  the  Pres- 
ident, in  his  arm-chair,  wearing  a  long  loose  coat,  and  smok- 
ing a  long  reed  pipe,  with  a  bowl  of  red  clay  —  combining 
the  dignity  of  the  patriarch,  monarch,  and  Indian  chief. 
Just  behind,  was  Edward  Livingston,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
reading  a  dispatch  from  the  French  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs.  The  ladies  glance  admiringly,  now  and  then,  at 
the  President,  who  listens^  waving  his  pipe  toward  the  chil- 
dren, when  they  become  too  boisterous." 

During  Jackson's  administration  a  new  Minister  arrived 
from  Lisbon,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  appointed  for  him 
a  day  to  be  presented  to  the  President.  The  hour  was  set, 
and  the  Secretary  expected  the  Minister  to  call  at  the  State 
Department ;  but  the  Portuguese  had  misunderstood  the 
Secretary's  French,  and  he  proceeded  alone  to  the  White 
House.  He  rang  the  bell,  and  the  door  was  opened  by  the 
Irish  porter,  Jimmy  O'Neil.  "  Je  suis  venu  voir  Monsieur 
le  President"  said  the  Minister.  "  What  the  deuce  does  he 
mean !  "  muttered  Jimmy.  "  He  says  President,  though,  so 


618  A  DISMAYED  FOREIGN  MINISTER. 

I  suppose  he  wants  to  see  the  Gineral."  "  Oui,  oui"  said 
the  Portuguese,  bowing. 

Jimmy  ushered  him  into  the  Green  Eoom,  where  the 
General  was  smoking  his  corn-cob  pipe  with  great  compos- 
ure. The  Minister  made  his  bow  to  the  President,  and  ad- 
dressed him  in  French,  of  which  the  General  did  not  under- 
stand a  word.  "What  does  the  fellow  say,  Jimmy?"  said 
he.  "I  dunno,  sir;  but  I  think  he's  a  furriner."  "Try 
him  in  Irish,  Jimmy,"  said  Old  Hickory.  Jimmy  gave  him 
a  touch  of  the  genuine  Milesian,  but  the  Minister  only 
shrugged  his  shoulders  with  the  usual  "  Plait  il  ?  "  "  Och  ! 
exclaimed  Jimmy,  "  he  can't  go  the  Irish,  sir.  He's  Frinch, 
to  be  sure ! "  "  Send  for  the  French  cook,  and  let  him  try 
if  he  can  find  out  what  the  gentleman  wants."  The  cook 
was  hurried  from  the  kitchen,  sleeves  rolled  up,  apron  on, 
and  a  huge  carving-knife  in  his  hand.  The  Minister  seeing 
this  formidable  apparition,  and  doubting  he  was  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Head  of  the  Nation,  feared  some  treachery,  and 
made  for  the  door,  before  which  Jimmy  planted  himself  to 
keep  him  in.  When  the  cook,  by  the  General's  order,  asked 
who  he  was,  and  what  he  wanted,  and  he  gave  a  subdued 
answer,  the  President  discovered  his  character.  At  this 
juncture  the  Secretary  came  in,  and  the  Minister  was  pre- 
sented in  due  form.  It  is  said  General  Jackson  always  re- 
sented allusion  to  this  incident. 

One  of  Jackson's  best  traits  was  his  inherent  and  unva- 
rying respect  for  women,  toward  whom  he  ever  conducted 
himself  with  chivalrous  delicacy,  not  to  be  expected  in 
a  man  of  such  antecedents,  and  of  so  impetuous  and 
turbulent  a  disposition.  While  he  was  detested  by  many,  he 
was  popular  with  the  masses.  Many  of  the  acts  for  which 
he  once  was  savagely  denounced  have  come  to  be  generally 
approved.  He  was  narrow,  ignorant,  overflowing  with  pas- 
sion and  prejudice ;  but  honest,  single-minded,  and,  accord- 
ing to  his  light,  a  true  and  conscientious  patriot. 


MRS.    VAN  BUREN  AND  MRS.    HARRISON.  619 

Hannah  Hoes,  the  wife  of  President  Martin  Yan  Buren, 
died  in  her  youth,  long  before  he  had  grown  to  high  polit- 
ical honors.  She  had  been  dead  seventeen  years  when,  as 
the  eighth  President  of  the  United  States,  he  entered  the 
White  House.  During  his  administration  its  social  honors 
were  dispensed  by  his  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  Abram  Yan 
Buren,  born  Angelica  Singleton,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
entered  upon  her  duties  and  pleasures  as  a  bride.  She  was  of 
illustrious  lineage,  possessed  of  finely-cultivated  powers,  and 
is  said  to  have  "  borne  the  fatigue  of  a  three-hours  levee 
with  a  patience  and  pleasantry  inexhaustible."  Doubtless 
she  shared  some  of  the  help  which  bore  Mr.  Monroe  triumph- 
antly through  a  similar  scene. 

"  Are  you  not  completely  worn  out  ? "  inquired  a  friend. 

"  Oh,  no ! "  replied  President  Monroe.  "A  little  flattery 
will  support  a  man  through  great  fatigue." 

Anna  Symmes,  the  wife  of  President  William  Henry 
Harrison,  a  lady  of  strong  intelligence  and  deep  piety,  never 
came  to  the  White  House.  Her  delicate  health  forbade  her 
to  leave  home  at  the  time  her  husband  made  his  presi- 
dential journey  to  Washington.  In  a  little  more  than  a 
month  he  was  borne  back  to  her,  released  by  death.  She 
survived,  almost  to  the  age  of  ninety,  to  bid  sons  and  grand- 
sons Godspeed  when  they  went  forth  to  fight  for  their  coun- 
try—  as  she  had  bidden  her  gallant  husband  the  same,  when 
he  left  her  amid  her  flock  of  little  ones,  in  the  days  of  her 
youth,  for  the  same  cause.  From  time  to  time  sons  and 
grandsons  came  from  the  field  of  battle  to  receive  her  bless- 
ing anew.  She  said  to  one :  "  Go,  my  son.  Your  country 
needs  your  services.  I  do  not.  I  feel  that  my  prayers  in 
your  behalf  will  be  heard,  and  that  you  will  return  in 
safety."  And  the  grandson  did  come  back  to  receive  her 
final  blessing,  after  many  hard-fought  battles. 


CHAPTEK  XLIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  CONTINUED  — SOME  BRIDES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  — A  PRESIDENT'S  WIFE 

WHO  PRAYED  FOR  HIS  DEFEAT. 

The  Courtship  of  President  John  Tyler  —  Engaged  for  Five  Years  —  Kiss- 
ing His  Sweetheart's  Hand  for  the  First  Time  —  An  Old-Time  Lover  — 
Death  of  Mrs.  Tyler  in  the  White  House  —  The  Young  and  Beautiful 
Mrs.  Robert  Tyler  —  A  Former  Actress  —  From  the  Footlights  to  the 
Executive  Mansion  —  "Can  This  be  I?" — "Actually  Living  in  the 
White  House  !"— Recalling  Her  Theatrical  Career  —  President  Tyler's 
Second  Bride  —  His  Son's  Account  of  the  Courtship  —  The  Wife  of 
President  Polk  —  Folk's  Courtship  —  Mrs.  Folk's  Great  Popularity  — 
Acting  as  Private  Secretary  to  Her  Husband —  "  Sarah  Knows  Where 
It  Is  " —  The  Wife  of  General  Zachary  Taylor  —  Her  Devotion  to  Her 
Husband  —  An  Unwilling  Mistress  of  the  White  House  —  Praying  for 
Her  Husband's  Defeat  -"  Betty  Bliss  " 

LETITIA  CHRISTIAN  TYLER,  wife  of 
President  John  Tyler,  was  another  sensitive, 
saintly  soul,. whose  children  rose  up  and  called 
her  blessed.  General  Tyler,  son  of  President 
Tyler,  says  of  his  father's  courtship :  "  His  courtship 
was  much  more  formal  than  that  of  to-day.  He  was 
seldom  alone  with  her  before  their  marriage,  and  he  has 
told  me  that  he  never  mustered  up  courage  enough  to  kiss 
nis  sweetheart's  hand  until  three  weeks  before  their  wed- 
ding, though  he  was  engaged  for  nearly  five  years.  He 
asked  her  parents'  cansent  before  proposing  to  her.  and 
when  he  visited  her  at  the  home  of  Colonel  Christian,  her 
father,  on  his  large  plantation,  he  was  entertained  in  the 
parlors  where  the  whole  family  were  assembled  together. 

(620) 


623 

As  was  the  custom  then  among  the  better  class  of  Virginian 
families,  the  lover  never  thought  of  going  out  riding  in  the 
same  carriage  with  his  affianced,  but  rode  along  on  horse- 
back at  the  side  of  the  carriage,  which  always  contained  one 
or  more  ladies  in  addition  to  his  sweetheart  to  add  decorum 
to  the  occasion." 

Mrs.  Tyler  died  in  the  White  House,  September  10, 1842. 
Her  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  Kobert  Tyler,  writing  of  the 
event,  says: 

"Nothing  can  exceed  the  loneliness  of  this  large  and 
gloomy  mansion,  hung  with  black,  its  walls  echoing  only 
sighs  and  groans.  My  poor  husband  suffered  dreadfully 
when  he  was  told  his  mother's  eyes  were  constantly  turned 
to  the  door  watching  for  him.  He  had  left  Washington  to 
bring  me  and  the  children,  at  her  request.  She  had  every 
thing  about  her  to  awaken  love.  She  was  beautiful  to  the 
eye,  even  in  her  illness ;  her  complexion  was  clear  as  an  in- 
fant's, her  figure  perfect,  and  her  hands  and  feet  were  the 
most  delicate  I  ever  saw.  She  was  refined  and  gentle  in 
every  thing  that  she  said  and  did;  and,  above  all,  a  pure 
and  spotless  Christian.  She  was  my  beau  ideal  of  a  perfect 
gentlewoman. 

"  The  devotion  of  father  and  sons  to  her  was  most  affect- 
ing. I  don't  think  I  ever  saw  her  enter  a  room  that  all 
three  did  not  spring  up  to  lead  her  to  a  chair,  to  arrange 
her  footstool,  and  caress  and  pet  her." 
.  The  social  duties  of  the  White  House  now  devolved  upon 
Mrs.  Kobert  Tyler.  She  was  young,  beautiful,  and  viva- 
cious, the  daughter  of  Cooper,  the  tragedian,  and  Eliza 
Fairlie,  whose  marriage  was  one  of  the  sensations  of  their 
day.  She  had  been  brought  up  by  her  parents  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  had  been  on  the  stage  for  a  short  time, 
acting  with  her  father  when  his  financial  affairs  were  at 
their  worst.  From  Washington,  young  Mrs.  Tyler  wrote  to 
her  sister: 


622     A  LIVELY  LETTER  OF  MRS.  ROBERT  TYLER. 

"  What  wonderful  changes  take  place,  my  dearest  M ! 

Here  am  I,  nee  Priscilla  Cooper  ('  nez  retrousse?  you  will 
perhaps  think),  actually  living  in  and,  what  is  more,  presid- 
ing at the  White  House !  I  look  at  myself,  like  the 

little  old  woman,  and  exclaim,  c  Can  this  be  I  ? '  I  have  not 
had  one  moment  to  myself  since  my  arrival,  and  the  most 
extraordinary  thing  is  that  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  used  to 
living  here  always,  and  receive  the  Cabinet  Ministers,  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  the  heads  of  the  army  and  navy,  etc.,  etc., 
with  a  faculty  which  astonishes  me.  '  Some  achieve  great- 
ness, some  are  born  to  it.'  I  am  plainly  born  to  it.  I  really 
do  possess  a  degree  of  modest  assurance  that  surprises  me 
more  than  it  does  any  one  else.  I  am  complimented  on 
every  side ;  my  hidden  virtues  are  coming  out.  I  am  con- 
sidered i  charmante'*  by  the  Frenchmen,  '  lovely'  by  the 
Americans,  and  { really  quite  nice,  you  know,'  by  the  Eng- 
lish. .  .  . 

"  I  have  had  some  lovely  dresses  made,  which  fit  me  to 
perfection, —  one  a  pearl-colored  silk  that  will  set  you  crazy. 
.  .  .  I  occupy  poor  General  Harrison's  room.  .  .  . 
The  nice  comfortable  bedroom,  with  its  handsome  furniture 
and  curtains,  its  luxurious  arm-chairs,  and  all  its  belongings, 
I  enjoy,  I  believe,  more  than  anything  in  the  establishment. 
The  pleasantest  part  of  my  life  is  when  I  can  shut  myself 
up  here  with  my  precious  baby.  .  .  . 

"The  greatest  trouble  I  anticipate  is  paying  visits. 
There  was  a  doubt  at  first  whether  I  must  visit  in  person  or 
send  cards;  but  I  asked  Mrs.  Madison's  advice  upon  the 
subject,  and  she  says,  return  all  my  visits  by  all  means. 
Mrs.  Bache  says  so,  too.  So  three  days  in  the  week  I  am  to 
spend  three  hours  a  day  driving  from  one  street  to  another 
in  this  city  of  magnificent  distances.  ...  I  see  so  many 
great  men  and  so  constantly  that  I  cannot  appreciate  the 
blessing!  The  fact  is,  when  you  meet  them  in  every-day 
life  you  forget  they  are  great  men  at  all,  and  just  find  them 


A  TOUCHING  MEMORY   OF  OTHER  DAYS.  623 

the  most  charming  companions  in  the  world,  talking  the 
most  delightful  nonsense,  especially  the  almost  awful-look- 
ing Mr.  Webster,  who  entertains  me  with  the  most  charming 
gossip." 

In  her  sprightly  letters  she  frequently  alludes  to  the 
change  in  her  own  position,  showing  that  in  the .  midst  of 
her  enjoyment  of  life  at  the  White  House  she  forgot  noth- 
ing in  the  past.  Writing  on  one  occasion  of  a  ball,  she  said  : 
"As  I  declined  dancing,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  talking  to 
many  grave  Senators,  and  among  the  rest  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Southard.  As  we  stood  at  the  end  of 
the  room,  which  is  the  old  theater  transformed  into  a  ball- 
room, he  said,  £  On  this  very  spot  where  we  stand  I  saw  the 
best  acting  that  I  ever  witnessed.' 

"  Though  my  heart  told  me  to  whom  he  alluded,  I  could 
not  help  asking  him  '  what  was  the  play,  and  who  the  actor  ? ' 
6 The  play  was  Macbeth;  the  performer,  Mr.  Cooper/  I 
could  not  restrain  the  tears  which  sprung  to  my  eyes  as  I 
heard  my  dear  father  so  enthusiastically  spoken  of.  I  looked 
around,  and  thought  that  not  only  had  papa's  footsteps  trod 
those  boards.  I  looked  down  at  the  velvet  dress  of  Mrs. 
Tyler,  and  thought  of  the  one  I  wore  there  six  years  before 
as  Lady  Randolph,  when  we  struggled  through  a  miserable 
engagement  of  a  few  rainy  nights ! " 

Mrs.  Robert  Tyler  presided  at  the  White  House  till  June, 
1844,  when  President  Tyler  married  again. 

President  Tyler  and  his  first  wife  were  of  nearly  the 
same  age,  he  being  only  eight  months  her  senior.  Their 
wedding  took  place  on  his  twenty-third  birthday,  and  their 
married  life  of  twenty-nine  years  was  a  most  happy  one. 
His  second  marriage  took  place  two  years  after  the  death  of 
his  first  wife.  President  Tyler  was  then  fifty -four.  The 
bride  was  a  girl  hardly  out  of  her  teens.  Her  name  was 
Miss  Julia  Gardiner,  and  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
gentleman  of  Gardiner's  Island,  New  York. 


624  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  SECOND  MRS.    TYLER. 

General  Tyler,  President  Tyler's  son,  says  that  in  the 
second  winter  after  his  mother's  death  Mr.  Gardiner  and  his 
two  daughters  came  to  Washington  on  their  return  from 
Europe.  They  visited  the  White  House  one  evening,  and  he, 
as  private  secretary,  took  their  cards  and  introduced  them 
to  the  family.  A  short  time  after  they  called  upon  his  sis- 
ter, who  was  then  presiding  at  the  White  House,  and  she 
returned  their  call,  discovering  that  the  girls  were  very 
beautiful  and  accomplished  and  also  of  excellent  family. 
At  the  opening  of  the  following  season  they  were  again  in 
Washington,  and  renewed  their  attentions  to  the  President 
and  his  family.  The  President,  becoming  infatuated  with 
Miss  Julia  and  she  reciprocating  his  affections,  they  became 
engaged  and  were  married  in  June,  1844. 

The  February  previous,  Commodore  Stockton  gave  a 
party  on  board  his  flagship,  the  Princeton,  then  lying  in 
the  Potomac,  to  which  President  Tyler  and  the  chief  officers 
of  State  were  invited.  A  gun,  fired  in  salute,  exploded, 
killing  several  prominent  men,  among  whom  was  Miss  Gar- 
diner's father.  It  was  on  account  of  this  affliction  that  the 
marriage  was  celebrated  very  quietly  at  the  Church  of  the 
Ascension  in  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  Tyler  was  a  beautiful,  well-educated  woman,  of 
graceful,  dignified  appearance.  Her  reign  in  the  White 
House  was  characterized  more  by  stateliness  than  cordiality. 
The  brief  eight  months  of  her  residence  in  the  Executive 
Mansion  passed  without  incident  of  importance.  But  doubt- 
less the  realization  of  her  ambition  to  be  the  mistress  of  the 
President's  house  was  not  all  that  she  had  fancied,  and  many 
were  the  wounds  she  received  from  the  disappointed  and  un- 
sympathetic members  of  the  President's  family,  who  felt 
that  she,  being  a  New  Yorker,  was  not  one  of  them.  Her 
youth,  beauty,  and  culture  were  sufficient  grounds  for  criti- 
cisms in  which  the  family  and  others  freely  indulged. 

After  the  expiration  of  President  Tyler's  term  they  went 


AN  EX-PRESIDENT'S  STRANGE  POSITION.  625 

to  Richmond  to  live.  The  prejudice  against  Mrs.  Tyler  on 
account  of  her  Northern  birth  was  more  manifest  there  than 
it  had  been  in  "Washington,  merchants,  shopkeepers,  and  all 
classes  resenting  her  orders  to  have  things  sent  to  "  Mrs. 
President  Tyler."  Ex-President  Tyler  was  a  devoted  hus- 
band, however,  and  for  seventeen  years  they  lived  in  perfect 
domestic  felicity,  several  children  having  been  born  to  them 
during  that  time 

In  1861  Mr.  Tyler  was  a  member  of  the  Peace  Conven- 
tion, held  in  Washington,  in  the  futile  hope  of  arranging  the 
difficulties  between  the  seceded  states  and  the  National  gov- 
ernment. The  convention  being  without  result,  he  cast  his 
fortunes  with  the  Confederacy,  and  presented  the  unprece- 
dented spectacle  of  a  former  Chief  Magistrate  in  open  rebel- 
lion against  the  government  of  which  he  had  once  been  the 
head.  He  died  on  January  17, 1862,  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
while  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Tyler  and  the  close  of  the  rebel- 
lion, Mrs.  Tyler  spent  much  of  her  time  with  her  mother  at 
the  Gardiner  home  on  Long  Island,  going  back  and  forth  to 
Richmond.  Her  youngest  daughter,  Miss  Pearl  Tyler,  was 
very  beautiful.  She  was  educated  at  the  Georgetown  Con- 
vent. During  the  administration  of  President  Arthur,  Mrs. 
Tyler  was  in  Washington  much  of  her  time,  being  frequently 
entertained  at  the  White  House  and  in  other  official  and 
private  houses. 

Mrs.  James  K.  Polk,  wife  of  the  eleventh  President  of  the 
United  States,  was  one  of  the  most  intellectual  women  who 
ever  presided  in  the  White  House.  Strictly  educated  in  a 
Moravian  Institute,  her  attainments  were  more  than  ordinary, 
her  understanding  stronger  than  that  of  average  women. 

When  Polk  met  her  she  was  a  belle  of  Tennessee,  and 
there  is  a  tradition  that  he  was  advised  by  General  Jackson 
to  marry  her.  Jackson,  who  was  a  good  friend  of  young  Polk, 
thought  his  attentions  among  the  ladies  were  entirely  too 


626  THE  QUEENLY   MRS.    POLK.. 

promiscuous.  He  urged  him  to  select  one  of  the  number  of 
his^sweethearts,  so  the  story  goes,  telling  him  at  the  same 
time  that  among  them  all  he  could  not  find  a  sweeter  woman 
or  a  better  wife  than  Sallie  Childress.  Polk  took  Jackson's 
advice,  proposed,  and  was  accepted.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
she  came  to  Washington  as  his  wife,  he  being  then  a  member 
of  Congress  from  Tennessee. 

Many  years  of  her  youth  and  prime  were  spent  at  the 
Capital,  and,  as  she  had  no  children,  she  had  more  than  ordi- 
nary opportunity  to  devote  herself  exclusively  to  the  service 
of  her  husband.  He  was  Speaker  of  the  House  before  he 
became  President  of  the  United  States,  and  in  every  position 
she  was  called  upon  to  fill  Mrs.  Polk  commanded  respect  and 
admiration  on  her  own  behalf,  aside  from  the  honor  always 
paid  to  the  person  holding  high  station.  Many  poems  in  the 
public  prints  were  addressed  to  her, —  one,  while  she  was 
the  wife  of  a  Member  of  Congress,  by  Judge  Story. 

When  her  husband  became  the  President,  Mrs.  Polk  was 
deemed  the  supreme  ornament  of  the  White  House,  and  the 
public  journals  of  the  land  broke  forth  into  gratulation  that 
the  domestic  life  of  the  Nation's  house  was  to  be  represented 
by  one  who  honored  American  womanhood.  Mrs.  Polk  was 
tall,  slender,  and  stately,  with  much  dignity  of  bearing,  and 
a  manner  said  to  resemble  that  of  Mrs.  Madison.  The  state- 
liness  of  her  presence  was  conspicuous,  and  so  impressed  an 
English  lady  that  she  declared  that  "not  one  of  the  three 
queens  whom  she  had  seen  could  compare  with  the  truly 
feminine,  yet  distinguished  presence  of  Mrs.  Polk." 

Mrs.  Polk  was  her  husband's  private  secretary,  and, 
probably,  the  only  lady  of  the  White  House  who  ever  filled 
that  office.  She  took  charge  of  his  papers,  he  trusting  en- 
tirely to  her  memory  and  method  of  their  safe  keeping.  If 
he  wanted  a  document,  long  before  labeled  and  "  pigeon- 
holed," he  said :  "  Sarah  knows  where  it  is ; "  and  it  was 
"  Sarah's  "  ever- ready  hand  that  laid  it  before  his  eyes. 


RETIREMENT   TO  PRIVATE  LIFE.  627 

Mrs.  Polk  was  considered  a  very  handsome  woman. 
Her  hair  and  eyes  were  very  black,  and  she  had  the  com- 
plexion of  a  Spanish  donna.  Without  being  technically 
"literary,"  she  was  fond  of  study  and  of  intellectual  pur- 
suits, and  possessed  a  decided  talent  for  conversation.  In 
her  youth  she  became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  through  a  long  life  her  character  was  eminently  that  of 
a  sincere  Christian.  Always  devout,  her  piety  in  later  years 
became  almost  fanaticism ;  but  even  in  the  prime  of  her 
beauty  and  power  she  never  gave  her  presence  or  approval 
to  the  dissipation,  the  insidiously-corrupting  influence  of 
what  is  termed  "  gay  life  in  Washington." 

After  his  retirement  from  public  life  at  the  expiration  of 
his  administration,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Polk  removed  to  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  where  for  some  time  the  ex-President  was  absorbed  in 
the  embellishment  of  a  fine  property,  which  was  his  home 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  is  now  known  as  Polk 
Place,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city.  The  grounds  occupy  a 
whole  square  ;  the  stately  mansion  in  the  center  was  some- 
thing regal  for  those  days,  and  is  so  yet,  barring  the  decay 
of  time. 

The  large  rooms  and  broad  hall  have  many  souvenirs  on 
their  walls  which  were  presented  to  Mr.  Polk  during  his 
public  life.  On  the  second  floor  is  Mr.  Polk's  study,  just  as 
he  left  it,  the  loving  wife  refusing  during  her  lifetime  to 
allow  anything  in  it  to  be  touched  by  any  but  her  own 
hands.  Her  devotion  to  her  husband  led  Mrs.  Polk  to  insist 
that  he  should  be  laid  to  rest  in  their  own  grounds.  Choos- 
ing a  corner  of  the  east  front,  she  caused  to  be  erected  an 
elaborate  tomb  of  native  marble.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
temple,  with  Doric  columns  supporting  a  dome-like  roof. 
Three  sides  are  covered  with  inscriptions,  in  Mrs.  Polk's  own 
words,  recording  the  principal  events  of  his  life  and  his 
character  as  citizen  and  statesman. 

Mrs.  Polk  survived  her  husband  for  many  years,  receiv- 
35 


628  REVERED  BY  THE  WHOLE  NATION. 

ing  always  the  most  distinguished  consideration.  All  noted 
visitors  were  taken  to  pay  their  respects  to  her ;  the  legisla- 
ture, the  courts,  and  other  bodies  convening  in  Nashville 
invariably  paid  their  respects  to  this  revered  woman.  During 
the  rebellion,  in  common  with  all  people  in  the  South, 
Mrs.  Polk  lost  much  by  the  depreciation  of  her  property ; 
but  the  protection  of  her  home  and  herself  was  a  pleasure 
alike  to  all  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers.  The  great  com- 
manders of  either  army  who  entered  Nashville  hastened  to 
do  her  honor.  The  aged  historian,  George  Bancroft,  who 
had  been  a  member  of  Mr.  Folk's  cabinet,  journeyed  to 
Nashville  just  before  his  death  to  visit  Mrs.  Polk  and  ex- 
press his  continued  regard  for  her  husband  and  herself. 

Mrs.  Polk  filled  her  position  as  the  wife  of  a  public  man 
with  rare  acceptability,  winning  from  the  whole  Nation  love 
and  admiration.  Dying  in  a  ripe  old  age,  honored  and  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  her,  she  was  laid  by  reverent  hands 
beside  her  beloved  husband  beneath  the  little  temple  she  had 
erected  to  his  memory. 

Mrs.  Taylor,  the  wife  of  General  Zachary  Taylor,  the 
twelfth  President  of  the  United  States,  was  one  of  those 
modest,  retiring  women  of  whose  heroism  fame  keeps  no 
record.  Her  life,  in  its  self-abnegation  and  wifely  devotion, 
under  every  stress  of  privation  and  danger,  on  the  Indian's 
trail,  amid  fever-breeding  swamps,  and  on  the  edge  of  the 
battle-field,  was  more  heroic  than  that  ever  dreamed  of  by 
Martha  Washington  —  or  continuously  lived  by  any  Presi- 
dential lady  of  the  Revolution. 

When  General  Taylor  received  the  official  announcement 
that  he  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  he  said : 
"  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  my  house  has  been 
the  tent,  and  my  home  the  battle-field."  This  utterance  was 
simply  true,  and  through  all  these  years,  this  precarious 
house  and  home  were  shared  by  his  devoted  wife.  He  was 
one  of  the  hardest- worked  of  army  officers.  Intervals  of 


THE  DEVOTED  WIFE   OP  A  SOLDIER.  629 

official  repose  at  West  Point  and  Washington  never  came  to 
this  young  "  Indian  fighter."  His  life  was  literally  spent  in 
the  savage  wilderness;  but  whether  in  the  swamps  of 
Florida,  on  the  plains  of  Mexico,  or  on  the  desolate  border 
of  the  frontier,  the  young  wife,  who  was  Miss  Margaret 
Smith,  of  Calvert  County,  Maryland,  persistently  followed, 
loved,  and  helped  him.  Thus  all  her  children  were  born, 
and  kept  with  her  till  old  enough  to  live  without  her  care ; 
then,  for  their  own  sakes,  she  gave  them  up,  and  sent  them 
back  to  "the  settlements"  for  the  education  indispensable 
to  their  future  lives  —  but,  whatever  the  cost,  she  stayed 
with  her  husband. 

The  devotion  to  duty,  and  the  cheerfulness  under  priva- 
tion of  this  tender  woman  —  the  wife  of  their  chief — pene- 
trated the  whole  of  his  pioneer  army.  The  thought  of  her 
made  every  man  more  contented  and  uncomplaining.  Her 
entire  married  life  had  been  spent  thus ;  but  when  her  hus- 
band took  command  against  the  treacherous  Seminoles,  in 
the  Florida  war ;  when  the  newspapers  heralded  the  -new- 
made  discovery  that  the  wife  of  Colonel  Taylor  had  estab- 
lished herself  at  Tampa  Bay,  it  was  considered  unpardon- 
ably  reckless  that  she  should  thus  risk  her  life,  when  the 
odds  of  success  seemed  all  against  her  husband.  Nothing 
could  move  her  from  her  post.  As  ever,  she  superintended 
the  cooking  of  his  food  ;  she  ministered  to  the  sick  and 
wounded  ;  she  upheld  the  morale  of  the  little  army  by  the 
steadfastness  of  her  own  self-possession  and  hope,  through 
all  the  long  and  terrible  struggle. 

Time  passed,  and  the  brave  colonel  of  the  border  became 
the  conquering  hero  from  Mexico,  bearing  triumphantly 
back  to  peace  the  victories  of  Palo  Alto,  Monterey,  and 
Buena  Vista  inscribed  upon  his  banners.  The  obscure 
"  Indian  fighter "  was  at  once  the  hero  and  idol  of  the 
Nation.  The  long  day  of  battle  and  glory  was  ended  at 
last,  the  wife  thought  —  and  now  she,  the  General,  and  their 


630  A  RELUCTANT  LADY   OF  THE  WHITE   HOUSE. 

children,  in  a  four-roomed  home,  were  to  be  kept  together 
at  last,  in  peace  unbroken. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  what  a  home  so  hardly 
earned,  so  nobly  won,  was  to  such  a  woman.  Nor  is  it  hard 
to  realize  that  when  the  peace  of  that  home  was  almost  im- 
mediately disturbed  by  a  nomination  of  its  head  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  Nation,  the  woman's  heart  at  last  rebelled. 
The  wife  thought  no  new  honor  could  add  to  the  luster  of 
her  husband's  renown.  She  declared  that  the  life-long  habits 
of  her  husband  would  make  him  miserable  under  the  re- 
straints of  metropolitan  life  and  the  duties  of  a  civil  posi- 
tion. From  the  first  she  deplored  the  nomination  of  General 
Taylor  to  the  Presidency  as  a  misfortune,  and  sorrowfully 
said:  "It  is  a  plot  to  deprive  me  of  his  society,  and  to 
shorten  his  life  by  unnecessary  care  and  responsibility." 

When,  at  last,  she  came  to  the  White  House  as  its  mis- 
tress, she  shunned  the  great  reception-rooms  and  received 
her  visitors  in  private  apartments.  She  tried,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  establish  her  daily  life  on  the  routine  of  the  small 
cottage  at  Baton  Rouge,  and  she  essayed  personally  to  min- 
ister to  her  husband's  comforts,  as  of  old,  till  her  simple 
habits  were  ridiculed  and  made  a  cause  of  reproach  by  the 
"  opposition." 

The  reigning  lady  of  the  White  House,  at  this  time,  was 
General  and  Mrs.  Taylor's  youngest  daughter,  Elizabeth,  or 
as  she  was  familiarly  and  admiringly  called,  "  Betty  Bliss." 
She  entered  the  White  House  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  as 
a  bride,  having  married  Major  Bliss,  who  served  faithfully 
under  her  father  as  Adjutant-General.  Perhaps  no  other 
President  was  ever  inaugurated  with  such  overwhelming 
enthusiasm  as  General  Taylor  —  and  the  reception  given 
his  youngest  child,  who  greatly  resembled  him,  and  who,  at 
that  time,  was  the  youngest  lady  who  had  ever  presided  at 
the  White  House,  was  almost  as  overpowering. 

The  vision  that  remains  of  her  loveliness  shows  us  a 


DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  TAYLOR.  631 

bright  and  beaming  creature,  dressed  simply  in  white,  with 
flowers  in  her  hair.  She  possessed  beauty,  good  sense,  and 
quiet  humor.  As  a  hostess  she  was  at  ease,  and  received 
with  affable  grace ;  but  an  inclination  for  retirement  marked 
her  as  well  as  her  mother.  Formal  receptions  and  official 
dinners  were  not  to  their  taste.  Nevertheless,  these  are  a 
part  of  the  inevitable  penalty  paid  by  all  who  have  received 
the  Nation's  highest  honor.  Society,  in  its  way,  exacts  as 
much  of  the  ladies  of  the  White  House  as  party  politics  do 
of  the  men  who  administer  state  affairs  in  it.  A  lack  of 
entertainment  caused  part  of  the  universal  discontent, 
already  voiced  against  the  soldier-President,  whose  heroic 
ways  were  naturally  not  the  ways  of  policy  or  diplomacy. 

The  second  winter  of  President  Taylor's  term  the  ladies 
of  his  family  seemed  to  have  assumed  more  prominently 
and  publicly  the  social  duties  of  their  high  position.  A  re- 
ception at  the  President's  house  March  4,  1850,  was  of 
remarkable  brilliancy.  Clay,  Calhoun,  Webster,  Benton, 
and  Cass,  with  many  beautiful  and  cultured  women,  then 
added  their  splendor  to  society  in  Washington.  The  augu- 
ries of  a  brilliant  year  were  not  fulfilled.  To  the  intense 
grief  of  his  family,  President  Taylor  died  at  the  White 
House,  July  9,  1850.  When  it  was  known  that  he  must  die 
Mrs.  Taylor  became  insensible,  and  the  agonized  cries  of  his 
children  reached  the  surrounding  streets. 

Dreadful  to  the  eyes  of  the  bereaved  wife  were  the  pomp 
and  show  with  which  her  hero  was  buried. 

After  he  became  President,  General  Taylor  said  that 
"  his  wife  prayed  every  night  for  months  that  Henry  Clay 
might  be  elected  President  in  his  place."  She  survived  her 
husband  two  years,  and  to  her  last  hour  never  mentioned 
the  White  House  in  Washington  except  in  its  relation  to  the 
death  of  her  husband. 


CHAPTEE  XLIY. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND   FAMOUS   LADIES  OP 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  CONTINUED  —  FROM  THE  VILLAGE 

SCHOOL  TO  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Fillmore  —  How  She  First  Met  Her  Husband,  Afterward 
President  Fillmore  —  A  Clothier's  Apprentice — An  Engagement  of 
Five  Years  —  Building  a  Humble  House  with  His  Own  Hands  — 
—  Working  and  Struggling  Together  —  Entering  the  White  House  as 
Mistress  —  Mrs.  Fillmore's  Death  —  The  Memory  of  a  Loving  Wife  — 
—The  Wife  of  President  Franklin  Pierce  —  Entering  the  White  House 
Under  the  Shadow  of  Death  —  A  Shocking  Accident  —  Grief-Stricken 
Parents  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Pierce  —  Last  Days  of  President  Pierce  — 
The  Mistake  of  a  Life-Time  —  James  Buchanan's  Administration  — 
The  Brilliant  Harriet  Lane  —  Why  Buchanan  Never  Married  —  Miss 
Lane's  Reign  at  the  White  House  —  Entertaining  the  Prince  of  Wales 
at  the  White  House  — Buchanan's  Last  Days  —  Miss  Lane's  Marriage. 

'RS.  ABIGAIL  FILLMORE,  wife  of  Millard  Fill- 
more,  the  thirteenth  President  of  the  United 
States,  succeeded  Mrs.  Zachary  Taylor  as  mis- 
tress of  the  White  House.  She  was  a  woman 
of  superior  intellect,  who  in  a  different  sphere  had 
proved  herself  an  equally-devoted  wife.  Abigail 
Powers  was  the  daughter  of  a  Baptist  clergyman,  and  her 
girlhood  was  spent  in  Western  New  York,  when  it  was  a 
frontier  and  a  wilderness.  Yearning  for  intellectual  cult- 
ure, with  all  the  drawbacks  of  poverty  and  scanty  opportu- 
nity, she  obtained  sufficient  knowledge  to  become  a  school- 
teacher. It  was  while  following  this  avocation  that  she 
first  met  her  future  husband,  then  a  clothier's  apprentice,  a 
youth  of  less  than  twenty  years,  himself,  during  the  winter 
months,  a  teacher  of  the  village  school. 

(632) 


w     CO 

N 

is 


STRUGGLING   FROM  POVERTY  TO   EMINENCE.  633 

The  engagement  lasted  for  five  years,  and  during  the 
last  three  years  Fillmore  was  so  poor  that  he  could  not  go 
to  see  her,  being  unable  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  journey 
of  150  miles.  They  were  married  in  1826.  He  built  with 
his  own  hands  the  house  in  which  they  first  lived,  and  dur- 
ing the  early  years  of  their  married  life  Mrs.  Fillmore  acted 
as  housekeeper  and  maid-of-all:work,  teaching  school  at  tho 
same  time.  In  this  little  house  the  wife  bore  full  half  of 
the  burden  of  life,  and  the  husband,  with  the  weight  of  care 
lifted  from  him  by  willing  and  loving  hands,  rose  rapidly  in 
the  profession  of  law,  and  in  less  than  two  years  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  Thus,  side  by  side,  they 
worked  and  struggled  from  poverty  to  eminence. 

Strong  in  intellect  and  will,  her  delights  were  all  femi- 
nine. Her  tasks  accomplished,  she  lived  in  books  and 
music,  flowers  and  children.  At  her  death,  her  husband 
said:  "For  twenty-seven  years,  my  entire  married  life,  I 
was  always  greeted  with  a  happy  smile."  She  entered  the 
White  House  a  matron  of  commanding  person  and  beautiful 
countenance.  Her  complexion  was  extremely  fair,  her  eyes 
blue  and  smiling;  and  her  head  was  crowned  with  a  wealth 
of  light  brown  curling  hair.  A  personal  friend  of  Mrs.  Fill- 
more,  writing  from  Buffalo,  says : 

"When  Mr.  Fillmore  entered  the  White  House,  he  found 
it  entirely  destitute  of  books.  Mrs.  Fillmore  was  in  the 
habit  of  spending  her  leisure  moments  in  reading,  I  might 
almost  say,  in  studying.  She  was  accustomed  to  be  sur- 
rounded with  books  of  reference,  maps,  and  all  the  other 
requirements  of  a  well-furnished  library,  and  she  found.it 
difficult  to  content  herself  in  a  house  devoid  of  such  attrac- 
tions. To  meet  this  want,  Mr.  Fillmore  asked  and  received 
an  appropriation  from  Congress,  and  selected  a  library,  de- 
voting to  that  purpose  a  large  and  pleasant  room  in  the 
second  story  of  the  White  House.  Here  Mrs.  Fillmore  sur- 
rounded herself  with  her  little  home  comforts;  here  her 


1 


AN  EXAMPLE  TO  AMERICAN  GIRLS.  637 

She  was  a  woman  of  the  rarest  type  in  whom  were 
blended,  in  perfect  proportion,  masculine  judgment  and  fem- 
inine tenderness.  In  her  were  combined  intellectual  force, 
vivacity  of  temperament,  genuine  sensibility,  and  deep  ten- 
derness of  heart.  She  used  her  opportunities,  as  the  Presi- 
dent's daughter,  to  minister  to  others.  She  clung  to  all  her 
old  friends,  without  any  regard  to  their  position  in  life ;  her 
time  and  talents  were  devoted  to  their  happiness.  After 
the  death  of  her  mother,  she  went  to  the  desolate  home  of 
her  father  and  brother,  and  emulating  the  mother's  exam- 
ple, relieved  her  father  of  all  household  care.  Her  domestic 
and  social  qualities  equaled  her  intellectual  power.  She 
gathered  all  her  early  friends  about  her ;  she  consecrated 
herself  to  the  happiness  of  her  father  and  brother;  she 
filled  their  home  with  sunshine.  With  scarcely  an  hour's 
warning  the  final  summons  came.  "  Blessing  she  was,  God 
made  her  so,"  and  in  her  passed  away  one  of  the  rarest  of 
young  American  Women. 

The  wife  of  Franklin  Pierce,  wife  of  the  "fourteenth 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  Miss  Jane  M.  Appleton 
of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Apple- 
ton,  President  of  Bowdoin  College.  She  entered  the  White 
House  under  the  shadow  of  ill-health  and  sore  bereavement^ 
The  mother  of  three  children,  none  survived  her,  and  the 
death  of  the  last,  under  the  most  distressing  circumstances, 
left  her  mother's  heart  forever  desolate.  Just  previous  to 
the  Inauguration  of  Mr.  Pierce  as  President,  while  the  fam- 
ily were  on  their  return  to  Concord  from  Boston,  the  axle 
of  one  of  the  passenger  cars  broke,  and  the  cars  were  pre- 
cipitated down  a  steep  embankment.  Mr.  Pierce  was  sit- 
ting beside  his  wife,  and  in  the  seat  opposite  them  sat  their 
son,  who  but  a  moment  before  was  amusing  them  with  his 
conversation. 

There  was  an  unsteady  movement  of  the  train,  then  a 
crash  and  a  bounding  motion  as  the  cars  were  thrown  over 


638  THE  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE  OF  MRS.    PIERCE. 

and  down  the  hill.  Mr.  Pierce,  though  much  bruised,  suc- 
ceeded in  extricating  his  wife  from  the  ruins,  and  bearing 
her  to  a  place  of  safety,  returned  to  search  for  his  boy.  He 
soon  found  his  lifeless  body,  his  head  crushed  under  a  beam. 
~No  mind  can  imagine  the  agony  of  these  bereaved  parents, 
or  pen  portray  their  grief.  On  the  threshold  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  every  ambition,  to  have  their  only  child  snatched 
away  in  such  a  tragic  manner  turned  all  joy  into  the  keen- 
est sorrow,  and  made  the  awaiting  honors  irksome. 

Mrs.  Pierce  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  sensitiveness  of 
organism,  delicacy  of  health,  and  spiritual  nature ;  a  de- 
voted wife  and  mother.  She  instinctively  shrank  from 
observation,  and  nothing  could  be  more  painful  to  her  in 
average  life  than  the  public  gaze.  She  found  her  joy  in  the 
quiet  sphere  of  domestic  life,  and  there,  through  her  wise 
counsels,  pure  tastes,  and  devoted  life,  she  exerted  a  power- 
ful influence.  Her  life,  as  far  as  she  could  make  it  so,  was 
one  of  retirement.  She  rarely  participated  in  gay  amuse- 
ments, and  never  enjoyed  what  is  called  fashionable  society. 
Her  natural  endowments  were  of  a  high  order.  She  inher- 
ited a  judgment  singularly  clear  and  a  taste  almost  unerr- 
ing. The  cast  of  her  beauty  was  so  dream-like;  her 
temper  was  so  little  mingled  with  the  common  character- 
istics of  woman ;  and  had  so  little  of  caprice,  so  little  of 
vanity,  so  utter  an  absence  of  all  jealousy  and  all  anger;. it 
was  so  made  up  of  tenderness  and  devotion,  and  yet  so 
imaginative  and  spiritual  in  its  fondness,  that  it  was  difficult 
to  associate  her  with  earthly  sentiment  and  affairs. 

It  was  but  natural  that  such  a  being  should  be  the  life- 
long object  of  a  husband's  adoring  devotion.  Nor  is  it 
strange  that  the  husband  of  such  a  wife,  reflecting  in  his 
outer  life  the  urbanity,  gentleness,  and  courtesy  which 
marked  his  home  intercourse,  in  addition  to  his  own  per- 
sonal gifts,  should  have  been,  what  Franklin  Pierce  was 
declared  to  be,  at  the  time  of  his  election  and  before  he 


A  WOMAN  OF  EXQUISITE  NATURE.  639 

openly  avowed  his  sympathy  with  the  South,  the  most  pop- 
ular man,  personally,  who  was  ever  President  of  the  United 
States. 

Notwithstanding  her  ill  health,  her  shrinking  tempera- 
ment, and  personal  bereavement,  Mrs.  Pierce  forced  herself 
to  meet  the  public  demands  of  her  exalted  station,  and  punc- 
tiliously presided  at  receptions  and  state  dinners,  at  any  cost 
to  herself.  No  woman,  by  inherent  nature,  could  have  been 
less  adapted  to  the  full  blaze  of  official  life  than  she,  yet  she 
met  its  demands  with  honor,  and  departed  from  the  White 
House  revered  by  all  who  had  ever  caught  a  glimpse  of  her 
exquisite  nature.  She  died  December,  1863,  in  Andover, 
Massachusetts,  and  now  rests,  with  her  husband  and  children, 
in  the  cemetery  at  Concord,  New  Hampshire. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  President,  Mr.  Pierce 
made  a  protracted  European  tour,  and  returned  to  New 
Hampshire  about  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  During 
the  progress  of  that  great  struggle  he  declared  in  a  public 
speech  his  entire  sympathy  with  the  South.  He  passed  into 
retirement,  which  practically  became  oblivion,  and  died  at 
Concord,  October  8,  1869. 

James  Buchanan,  the  fifteenth  President  of  the  United 
States,  succeeded  Mr.  Pierce.  During  his  administration  the 
White  House  seemed  to  revive  the  social  magnificence  of  old 
days.  Harriet  Lane  brought  again  into  its  drawing-rooms 
the  splendor  of  courts,  and  more  than  'repeated  the  elegance 
and  brilliancy  of  fashion  which  marked  the  administration 
of  President  John  Quincy  Adams. 

James  Buchanan  is  the  only  bachelor  among  the  Presi- 
dents before  President  Cleveland;  and  it  was  village  gossip 
that  made  him  so.  He  was  a  prosperous  young  lawyer  of 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  when  he  became  engaged  to  a 
beauty  and  an  heiress,  Miss  Annie  C.  Coleman,  of  that  city. 
Her  father  approved  of  the  engagement,  and  the  course  of 
true  love  ran  smooth  until  some  unfounded  stories  caused 


640  JAMES  BUCHANAN'S  EARLY  LOVE. 

Miss  Coleman  to  write  a  note  to  her  lover  asking  him  to 
release  her  from  the  engagement.  She  gave  no  reason, 
and  Buchanan  could  only  reply  that  if  she  wished  it  so  he 
must  submit.  This  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1819,  when 
Buchanan  was  twenty-eight  years  old  and  Miss  Coleman 
was  twenty-three.  Before  Christmas  came  Miss  Coleman 
died  in  Philadelphia,  where  she  was  visiting,  and  Buchanan 
wrote  a  most  touching  obituary  of  her,  which  was  published 
in  one  of  the  Lancaster  newspapers.  The  only  letter  of  his 
remaining  to  show  his  connection  with  her  is  one  written  to 
her  father,  saying  "that  he  had  loved  her  more  infinitely 
than  any  other  human  being  could  love ;  and,  though  he  might 
sustain  the  shock  of  her  death,  happiness  had  fled  from  him 
forever."  He  wished  to  look  once  more  upon  her  before  her 
interment,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  follow  her  remains 
to  the  grave  as  a  mourner. 

It  was  his  grief  over  his  sweetheart's  death  that  caused 
Buchanan  to  rush  into  the  excitement  of  political  life,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  her  he  might  have  been  known  only  as  a 
great  lawyer.  At  his  death  Miss  Coleman' s  love-letters  were 
found  sealed  up  among  his  papers,  in  their  place  of  deposit 
in  New  York,  with  the  direction  upon  them,  in  Buchanan's 
own  handwriting,  that  they  were  to  be  destroyed  without 
being  read.  This  injunction  was  obeyed,  and  the  package 
was  burned  without  breaking  the  seal. 

Harriet  Lane  was  the  adopted  daughter  of  President 
Buchanan,  .and  was  "  lady  of  the  White  House  "  during  his 
administration.  She  was  one  of  those  blondes  whom  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  so  delighted  to  portray.  "  Her  head  and 
features  were  cast  in  noble  mold,  and  her  form  which,  at 
rest,  had  something  of  the  massive  majesty  of  a  marble  pil- 
lar, in  motion  was  instinct  alike  with  power  and  grace." 
Grace,  light,  and  majesty  seemed  to  make  her  atmosphere. 
Every  motion  was  instinct  with  life,  health,  and  intelligence. 
Her  superb  physique  gave  the  impression  of  intense,  har- 


BEAUTY  AND   POPULARITY  OF  MISS  LANE.  641 

monious  vitality.  Her  eyes,  of  deep  violet,  shed  a  constant, 
steady  light,  yet  they  could  flash  with  rebuke,  kindle  with 
humor,  or  soften  in  tenderness.  Her  mouth  was  her  most 
peculiarly-beautiful  feature,  capable  of  expressing  infinite 
humor  or  absolute  sweetness,  while  her  classic  head  was 
crowned  with  masses  of  golden  hair. 

As  a  child  she  was  a  fun-loving,  warm-hearted  romp. 
When  eleven  years  of  age  she  was  tall  as  a  woman ;  never- 
theless Mr.  Buchanan,  one  day  looking  from  his  window, 
saw  Harriet  with  flushed  cheek  and  hat  awry,  trundling  a 
wheelbarrow  full  of  wood  through  the  principal  street  of 
Lancaster.  He  rushed  out  to  learn  the  cause  of  such  an  un- 
seemly sight,  when  she  answered  in  confusion  "  that  she  was 
on  her  way  to  old  black  Aunt  Tabitha  with  a  load  of  wood, 
because  it  was  so  cold."  A  few  years  later  this  impulsive 
child,  having  been  graduated  with  high  honor  from  the 
Georgetown  Convent,  was  shining  at  the  Court  of  St.  James, 
at  which  her  uncle  was  American  Minister.  Queen  Yictoria, 
upon  whom  her  surpassing  brightness  and  loveliness  seemed 
to  make  a  deep'  impression,  decided  that  her  rank  should  be 
the  same  as  that  of  wife  of  a  United  States  Minister.  Thus 
the  youthful  American  girl  became  one  of  the  leading  ladies 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  of  Saint  James. 

On  the  continent  and  in  Paris  she  was  everywhere 
greeted  as  a  girl-queen,  and  in  England  her  popularity  \vas 
immense.  On  the  day  when  Mr.  Buchanan  and  Mr.  Tenny- 
son received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Laws  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  her  appearance  was  greeted  by  loud 
cheers  from  students,  who  arose  en  masse  to  receive  her. 
From  this  dazzling  career  abroad  she  came  back  to  her 
native  land  to  preside  over  the  "White  House.  She  became 
the  supreme  lady  of  the  gayest  administration  which  up  to 
that  time  had  marked  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
Societies,  ships  of  war,  neckties  even,  were  named  after  her. 
Men,  gifted  and  great,  from  foreign  lands  and  of  her  own 


642  MISS  LANE  AT 'THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

country,  sought  her  hand  in  marriage.  Such  cumulated 
pleasures  and  honors  probably  were  never  heaped  upon  any 
other  one  young  woman  of  the  United  States. 

At  the  White  House  receptions,  and  on  all  state  occa- 
sions, the  sight  of  this  stately  beauty,  standing  beside  her 
distinguished-looking,  gray -haired  uncle,  made  a  unique  and 
delightful  contrast  which  thousands  flocked  to  see.  Her 
duties  were  more  onerous  than  had  fallen  to  the  share  of 
any  lady  of  the  White  House  for  many  years ;  the  long  dip- 
lomatic service  of  Mr.  Buchanan  abroad  involving  him  in 
many  obligations  to  entertain  distinguished  strangers  pri- 
vately, aside  from  his  hospitalities  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  During  his  administration  the  Prince  of  Wales  was 
entertained  at  the  White  House.  He  presented  his  portrait 
to  Mr.  Buchanan  and  a  set  of  engravings  to  Miss  Lane,  as 
"  a  slight  mark  of  his  grateful  recollection  of  the  hospitable 
reception  and  agreeable  visit  at  the  White  House." 

Probably  no  administration  was  so  unpopular  as  James 
Buchanan's.  Odious  throughout  the  North  on  account  of 
what  was  declared  to  be  his  treacherous  yielding  to  the 
demands  of  the  South,  it  was,  towards  its  close,  bitterly  con- 
demned by  the  South,  which  accused  Buchanan  of  perfidy 
to  them  in  sustaining  the  unconstitutional  agreements  of  the 
North.  He  shared  the  fate  of  most  men  who  in  the  time  of 
fierce  dissension  between  two  great  parties  try,  in  a  vacillat- 
ing way,  to  avoid  offending  either,  and  end  by  antagonizing 
both. 

During  the  last  troubled  months  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
administration  he  seemed  concerned  only  with  the  coming  of 
the  4th  of  March,  1861,  when  his  responsibility  would  end. 
He  died  in  Wheatland,  Pennsylvania,  in  1868.  He  always 
spoke  with  warmth  and  gratitude  of  Miss  Lane's  patriotism 
and  good  sense.  Neither  he  nor  her  country  aver  suffered 
from  any  conversational  lapse  of  hers,  which,  in  a  day  so 
rife  with  passion  and  prejudice,  is  saying  much. 


CHAPTER   XLY. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED—  MRS.  ABRAHAM 

LINCOLN  —  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  DURING 

THE    CIVIL   WAR. 

The  First  Love  of  Abraham  Lincoln  —  His  Grief  at  Her  Loss  —  His  Second 
Love  —  Engaged  to  Miss  Mary  Todd,  His  Third  Love  —  Wooed  by 
Douglas  and  Lincoln  —  The  Wedding  Deferred  —  Lincoln's  Marriage 

—  Character  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  —  Fulfillment  of  a  Life-Long  Ambition  — 
The  Mutterings  of  Civil  War  —  Newspaper  Gossip  and  Criticism  of 
Mrs.  Lincoln  —  Noble  Work  of  Women  During  the  Dark  Days  of  the 
Civil  War  —  Mrs.  Lincoln's  Neglect  of  Her  Opportunity  to  Endear 
Herself  to  the  Nation  —  The  Dead  and  Dying  in  Washington  —  Death 
of  Willie  Lincoln  —  Wild  Anguish  of  His  Mother  —  The  President 
Assassinated  —  Intense  Excitement  in  Washington  —  A  Nation  in  Mourn- 
ing —  Mrs.  Lincoln's  Mind  Unbalanced  —  Removes  from  Washington 

—  Petitions  Congress  for  a  Pension  —  Unfavorable  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee —  The  Pension  Granted  —  Death  of  Mrs.   Lincoln. 


LINCOLN'S  first  love  was  a  golden- 
haired  blonde,  who  had  cherry  lips,  a  clear,  blue 
eye,  a  neat  figure,  an  unassuming  manner,  and 
more  than  ordinary  intellectual  ability.  Her 
name  was  Anne  Rutledge.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  a  tavern-keeper  in  Salem,  Illinois.  Mr.  Lincoln 
met  her  when  he  was  about  twenty-three,  and,  after  a  ro- 
mantic courtship,  became  engaged  to  her.  She  died  before 
they  could  be  married,  and  Lincoln  was  so  much  affected  by 
her  death  that  her  friends  feared  he  would  become  insane. 
He  was  carefully  watched,  as  he  became  very  violent  during 
storms  and  in  damp,  gloomy  weather.  At  such  times  he 
would  rave,  exclaiming  :  "  I  can  never  be  reconciled  to  have 

(643) 


644  LOVE   AFFAIRS   OF   A   FAMOUS   MAN. 

the  snow,  rain,  and  storms  beat  upon  her  grave !  "  At  this 
time  he  began  to  quote,  it  is  said,  the  poem  which  is  so 
identified  with  him,  beginning  — 

"  Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ?" 

Years  afterwards,  when  he  had  become  famous,  he  was 
asked  by  an  old  friend  as  to  the  story  of  his  love  for  Anne 
Rutledge,  and  he  said,  "I  loved  her  dearly.  She  was  a 
handsome  girl,  and  would  have  made  a  good  and  loving 
wife." 

Lincoln's  next  love  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  woman,  named 
Mary  Owens,  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  about  a 
year  after  Anne  Rutledge  died.  Upon  her  rejection  of  him, 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  friend  Mrs.  O.  H.  Browning,  saying 
that  he  had  been  inveigled  into  paying  his  addresses  to  Miss 
Owens,  but,  on  being  refused,  he  found  he  cared  more  for 
her  than  he  had  thought,  and  proposed  again.  In  this  letter 
he  says : 

"  I  most  emphatically  in  this  instance  have  made  a  fool 
of  myself.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  never  more  to 
think  of  marrying,  and  for  this  reason, —  that  I  can  never 
be  satisfied  with  any  one  who  would  be  fool  enough  to  have 
me." 

Still,  it  was  not  long  after  this  that  he  was  engaged  to 
Miss  Mary  Todd,  a  rosy,  sprightly  brunette,  of  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  who  was  visiting  at  Springfield,  where  Lincoln 
was  then  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Legislature.  Both  Lin- 
coln and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  proposed  to  her.  She  refused 
Douglas  and  accepted  Lincoln.  Lincoln  feared  that  the 
match  would  not  be  a  happy  one,  and  Ward  Lamon,  his 
biographer,  states  that  he  failed  to  be  present  at  the  time 
first  set  for  the  ceremony,  though  the  guests  were  assembled 
and  the  wedding-feast  prepared.  He  became  suddenly  ill, 
and  it  was  more  than  a  year  before  the  marriage  was  con- 
summated. It  finally  took  place  in  Springfield,  and  the 
couple  began  their  married  life  by  boarding  at  the  Globe 


MRS.  LINCOLN'S  GIRLHOOD.  645 

Hotel,  at  four  dollars  a  week.  Lincoln  was  thirty-three 
years  old  at  this  time,  and  Mary  Todd  was  twenty-one. 

Unfortunately  for  Mary  Todd,  she  lost  her  mother  when 
she  was  very  young,  and  was  brought  up  by  an  aunt  who 
in  no  respects  disciplined  her  niece,  but  allowed  her  natur- 
ally-willful disposition  and  violent  temper  to  have  full  scope. 
She  was  much  petted  by  her  friends,  and  having  more 
money  than  most  of  her  young  associates,  she  was  indulged 
beyond  reason  in  all  her  whims  and  wishes.  As  a  result, 
her  ill-temper  became  ungovernable,  and  well-nigh  destroyed 
her  otherwise  noble  nature.  There  was  no  doubt  of  her 
love  for  her  husband,  but  their  dispositions  being  so  entirely 
dissimilar  she  was  constantly  finding  cause  for  excitement 
and  unhappiness  over  some  trivial  difference  of  taste  or  in- 
clination. 

She  was  so  willful  that  she  could  not  bear  to  be  thwarted 
in  anything.  A  delay  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  appearance  at  a 
meal  on  time  —  no  matter  how  important  his  business  en- 
gagement—  was  enough  to  throw  her  into  a  violent  passion. 
He  was  so  patient  and  indulgent  that  she  frequently  became 
exasperated  at  his  very  amiability. 

Her  ambition  knew  no  bounds,  and  consequently  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  she  was  in 
ecstasy,  believing  that  it  was  the  legitimate  fulfillment  of 
her  horoscope  that  she  should  be  "  the  first  lady  of  the  land." 
The  gathering  storm  on  the  National  horizon  had  no  effect 
upon  her  jubilant  spirits.  She  doubtless  thought  out  many 
plans  for  making  impressions  on  the  social  world  long  before 
the  election.  Consequently,  when  that  was  over  and  they 
set  out  for  Washington  for  Mr.  Lincoln's  Inauguration,  her 
anticipations  were  very  different  from  those  of  her  great 
and  thoughtful  husband,  who  was  oppressed  with  anxiety 
for  the  future  of  his  country.  He  fully  realized  the  grave 
responsibilities  confronting  him  as  soon  as  he  should  assume 

the  position  of  Chief  Magistrate.     The  lines  deepened  in  his 
36 


648  IN  THE  DARK   DAYS   OF  WAR. 

It  will  ever  oe  the  regret  of  all  loyal  women  that  Mrs. 
Lincoln  failed  to  rise  to  the  height  of  her  magnificent  oppor- 
tunities. It  was  her  misfortune  that  at  the  time  when  the 
need  of  her  country  was  the  greatest  for  the  highest,  holi- 
est ministration  of  women,  she  should  be  so  engrossed  in 
trivialities  that  her  name  is  not  to  be  found  on  the  list 
of  such  noble  souls  as  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Dorothea  Dix, 
Clara  Barton,  Mary  J.  Safford,  Mother  Bickerdike,  Mrs. 
Hoge,  Mrs.  Governor  Harvey,  Johanna  Turner,  and  a  host  of 
others,  whose  service  to  their  country  was  as  fruitful  of  good 
results  as  that  of  the  whole  corps  of  physicians  and  surgeons. 
Loftiness  of  soul,  consecrated  purpose,  broad  and  profound 
sympathy,  self-sacrificing  endeavor  —  all  these,  unhappily, 
were  wanting  in  the  character  of  the  Mistress  of  the  White 
House. 

We  may  imagine  her  disappointment  when  we  remem- 
ber that  after  all  her  vanities  and  devotion  to  dress  she  had 
very  little  opportunity  for  social  enjoyment  and  display. 
During  the  first  two  years  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration 
there  were  very  few  social  functions  in  the  White  House  or 
elsewhere,  it  being  wisely  decided  that  such  gayeties  were 
incompatible  with  the  seriousness  of  a  civil  war,  when  any 
festivity  might  be  interrupted  by  the  booming  of  cannon 
and  the  appalling  sounds  of  a  bloody  battle. 

They  had  been  in  the  White  House  two  years  when 
Willie  Lincoln,  a  child  lovely  and  beloved,  died,  and  his 
little  body,  after  being  laid  out  in  the  Green  Eoom,  was 
borne  away  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  for  interment.  Mrs. 
Lincoln  abandoned  herself  to  the  wildest  manifestations  of 
sorrow,  refusing  to  be  comforted  by  the  many  who  hastened 
to  proffer  their  services  and  consolation.  She  shut  herself 
in  with  her  grief,  and  demanded  of  God  why  He  had 
afflicted  her.  But  her  sorrow  did  not  bring  her  nearer  in 
sympathy  to  the  thousands  of  mothers  weeping  in  those 
dark  hours  because  their  sons  were  not.  It  did  not  lead  her 


s 


8.1 


il 


Sg 


THE   DAWN   OF   PEACE.  651 

in  time  to  minister  to  those  bereft,  to  whom  in  the  train  of 
Death  came  poverty  and  bitter  privation. 

For  weeks  and  months  she  kept  her  room,  and  never 
again  entered  the  chamber  in  which  her  little  son  died,  nor 
the  one  where  he  was  laid  out ;  in  fact,  for  the  succeeding 
two  years,  though  gradually  the  war  clouds  were  passing 
away,  there  was  scarcely  more  gayety  at  the  White  House 
than  there  had  been  in  the  two  previous  years. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  grief  was  equally  intense,  but  his  cour- 
ageous heart  put  aside  his  own  sorrows  to  better  bear  those 
of  his  country  and  share  those  of  the  many  who  had  lost 
their  all.  As  it  is  darkest  before  dawn,  so  the  smoke  of 
battle,  near  the  close  of  the  great  conflict,  was  densest  just 
before  the  dawn  of  peace.  To  this  was  added  the  excite- 
ment and  disquietude  of  the  Presidential  election  of  1864, 
the  first  after  the  promulgation  of  the  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation. Mr.  Lincoln  knew  no  cessation  from  his  labors 
and  boundless  concern,  until  the  cannon's  roar  announced 
his  victories  at  the  polls  and  in  the  field,  happily  followed 
soon  after  by  messengers  announcing  the  surrender  at  Appo- 
matox  and  a  universal  peace. 

With  these  glad  tidings  his  soul  rebounded,  and  he  began 
to  listen  to  the  entreaties  of  his  friends  that  he  would  allow 
himself  some  rest  and  recreation.  Taking  Mrs.  Lincoln  to 
drive,  the  afternoon  before  his  assassination,  in  the  course  of 
their  conversation,  "  Mary,"  he  said,  "  we  have  had  a  hard 
time  of  it  since  we  came  to  Washington,  but  the  war  is  over 
and  with  God's  blessing  we  may  hope  for  four  years  of 
peace  and  happiness,  and  then  go  back  to  Illinois  to  pass  the 
rest  of  our  lives  in  quiet." 

It  was  the  14th  of  April,  1865,  and  that  night  he  accom- 
panied Mrs.  Lincoln,  Major  Rathbone,  and  Miss  Harris, 
daughter  of  Senator  Harris,  to  Ford's  Theater,  to  see  Laura 
Keene  in  the  popular  play  of  "Our  American  Cousin/'  No 
one  had  ever  seen  him  so  cheerful,  or  his  tell-tale  face  so  free 


652  THE  TRAGEDY   OF  LINCOLN'S  DEATH. 

from  painful  expression.  During  the  performance  of  the 
second  act,  while  the  party  was  absorbed  in  watching  the 
play,  John  Wilkes  Booth  crept  in  behind  the  scenes  through 
a  door  which  opened  into  an  alley  where  a  fleet  horse  was 
tied,  upon  which  he  was  to  make  his  escape.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  he  caught  his  spurs  in  the  flag  that  had  been  draped 
over  the  entrance  to  the  President's  box,  and  stumbled,  but 
in  an  instant  was  on  his  feet,  and  before  the  inmates  in  the 
box  could  stay  his  hand  he  had  placed  his  pistol  almost  against 
the  back  of  the  President's  head  and  had  fired  the  fatal  shot 
which  entered  at  the  base  of  the  brain.  Mr.  Lincoln  fell 
unconscious,  and  Major  Rathbone  seized  the  assassin,  who 
suxuck  him  with  a  dagger,  inflicting  a  frightful  wound. 

Extricating  himself  from  Major  Rathbone's  grasp,  Booth 
jumped  upon  the  stage,  and  brandishing  the  bloody  dagger, 
cried  out  "Sic  semper  tyrannis;  the  South  is  avenged!" 
Then  he  darted  out  through  the  door  to  his  horse  and  fled 
before  the  horrified  actors  and  people  in  the  theater  recov- 
ered from  the  awful  shock  sufficiently  to  make  any  attempt 
to  capture  him,  though  many  recognized  him  and  cried 
"  John  Wilkes  Booth,"  as  he  was  well  known  in  Washing 
ton. 

No  pen  could  portray  the  wild  anguish  of  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
or  the  scene  which  followed  the  realization  of  what  had 
happened.  Strong  men  were  unnerved;  citizens,  officers, 
and  soldiers  were  running  hither  and  thither,  not  knowing 
what  they  were  doing  or  saying.  Finally  the  rapidly-sink- 
ing form  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  carried  into  the  private  house 
of  Mr.  Peterson,  opposite.  More  dead  than  alive,  his  poor, 
stricken  wife  was  carried  to  his  side,  for  nothing  would 
induce  her  to  leave  him.  His  devoted  son,  Robert  T.  Lin- 
coln, hastened  to  his  dying  father  and  distracted  mother. 

Legions  of  grief-stricken  men  and  women  crowded  the 
streets  all  that  fearful  night,  crying  and  praying  for  Mr. 
Lincoln's  recovery.  Alas!  he  knew  not  of  their  agony; 


A   SORROW-STRICKEN  NATION.  653 

consciousness  had  departed  the  moment  he  was  struck  by 
the  assassin,  though  the  poor  body  did  not  yield  to  the  icy 
grasp  of  death  until  twenty-two  minutes  after  seven  the 
next  morning.  Soon  after  this  it  was  tenderly  carried  to 
the  Executive  Mansion,  where  it  was  laid  in  state  in  the 
East  Room.  From  morning  till  night  through  the  melan- 
choly days  intervening  between  the  15th  and  21st,  a  con- 
stant stream  of  sorrowing  people,  of  high  and  low  degree, 
passed  in  line  through  this  historic  room,  pausing  a 
moment  beside  his  bier  to  look  upon  his  placid  face, 
which  "seemed  yet  to  express  the  Christlike  sentiments 
which  he  had  uttered  from  the  colonnade  of  the  Capitol 
in  his  last  inaugural." 

During  all  this  time,  and  for  weeks  and  months  after- 
ward, poor  Mrs.  Lincoln  lay  on  her  bed  praying  for  death, 
and  requiring  all  the  skill  of  eminent  physicians  and  the 
thoughtful  and  tender  care  of  nurses  and  friends  to  save  her 
from  violent  insanity.  Nor  was  this  strange.  The  shock  of 
her  husband's  tragic  and  untimely  death  might  have  un- 
balanced the  mind  of  a  woman  of  stronger,  loftier  nature. 
It  was  her  misfortune  that  she  had  so  armed  public 
sympathy  against  her,  by  years  of  seeming  indifference 
to  the  sorrows  of  others,  that  when  her  own  hour  of 
supreme  anguish  came,  there  were  few  .to  comfort  her, 
and  many  to  assail.  She  knew  nothing  of  what  was  going 
on  in  the  Executive  Mansion,  or  of  the  wonderful  funeral 
procession  which  bore  her  husband's  remains  over  a 
circuitous  route  to  their  last  resting-place  in  Oak  Kidge 
Cemetery  at  Springfield,  Illinois. 

Mrs.  Lincoln's  mind  was  not  the  only  one  affected  by 
this  unparalleled  tragedy.  Major  Rathbone  never  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  that  awful  scene.  A  few  years  after- 
wards, while  temporarily  insane,  he  killed  his  wife  and  him- 
self, at  his  post  in  the  Diplomatic  Service  whither  he  had 
been  sent  with  the  hope  that  he  might  recover  from  the 


654  MRS.  LINCOLN'S  PETITION. 

morbid  condition  from  which  he  had  suffered  ever  since  Mr. 
Lincoln's  assassination. 

In  January,  1869,  while  traveling  in  Europe,  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  Yice-President  of  the 
United  States,  asking  for  a  pension: 

To  the  Honorable  Vice- President  of  tlie  United  States  : 

SIR —  I  herewith  most  respectfully  present  to  the  Honorable  Senate  of 
the  United  States  an  application  for  a  pension.  I  am  a  widow  of  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  whose  life  was  sacrificed  in  his  country's  service. 
That  sad  calamity  has  very  greatly  impaired  my  health,  and  by  the  advice 
of  my  physicians  I  have  come  over  to  Germany  to  try  the  mineral  waters, 
and  during  the  winters  to  go  to  Italy.  But  my  financial  means  do  not  per- 
mit me  to  take  advantage  of  the  urgent  advice  given  me,  nor  can  I  live  in 
a  style  becoming  the  widow  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  nation, 
although  I  live  as  economically  as  I  can.  In  consideration  of  the  great 
services  my  deeply -lamented  husband  has  rendered  to  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  fearful  loss  I  have  sustained  by  his  untimely  death,  his  martyr- 
dom, I  may  say  —  I  respectfully  submit  to  your  honorable  body  this  peti- 
tion. Hoping  that  a  yearly  pension  may  be  granted  me,  so  that  I  may 
have  less  pecuniary  care,  I  remain  most  respectfully, 

MRS.  A.  LINCOLN. 

FRANKFORT,  GERMANY. 

The  bill  was  introduced  and  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Pensions.  The  chairman  of  that  committee  made 
a  report  in  which  the  committee  said,  in  substance,  that  they 
were  unable  to  perceive  that  Mrs.  Lincoln,  as  the  widow  of 
the  late  President,  or  in  any  other  character,  was  entitled  to 
a  pension  under  the  letter  and  spirit  of  any  existing  law. 
The  report  ended  with  these  words :  "  Under  all  these  cir- 
cumstances the  committee  have  no  alternative  but  to  report 
against  the  passage  of  the  general  resolutions."  Subse- 
quently, largely  through  the  efforts  of  Charles  Sumner  in 
the  Senate  and  the  Illinois  delegation  in  Congress,  she  was 
given  a  yearly  pension  of  $3,000,  which  was  afterwards 
increased  to  $5,000,  this  amount  being  now  paid  to  all  wid- 
ows of  Presidents. 


A   BROKEN-HEARTED   WOMAN.  655 

Speaking  of  the  effect  upon  Mrs.  Lincoln  of  the  terrible 
tragedy  that  robbed  her  of  a  kind  and  patient  husband  and 
the  nation  of  a  great  and  wise  President,  Arnold,  in  his 
"  Life  of  Lincoln,"  says  : 

"  She  so  far  lost  the  control  of  her  mind  that  she  dwelt 
constantly  on  the  incidents  of  the  last  day  of  her  husband's 
life,  and  she  lost  the  ability,  by  any  effort  of  her  will,  to  think 
of  other  and  less  painful  things. 

"As  time  passed  she  partly  recovered,  and  her  friends 
hoped  that  change  of  scene  and  new  faces  would  bring  her 
back  to  a  more  sound  and  healthful  mental  condition.  But 
the  death  of  her  son  Thomas,  to  whom  she  was  fondly 
attached,  made  her  still  worse.  .  .  .  She  was  peculiar 
and  eccentric  and  had  various  hallucinations.'"  She  was 
removed  to  the  home  of  her  elder  sister,  in  Springfield, 
Illinois,  where  she  lingered  until  her  death,  which  took 
place  on  July  16,  1882. 

"Mrs.  Lincoln  has  been  treated  harshly  —  nay,  most  cru- 
elly abused  and  misrepresented  by  a  portion  of  the  press. 
That  love  of  scandal  and  of  personality,  unfortunately  too 
general,  induced  reporters  to  hang  around  her  doors,  to  dog 
her  steps,  to  chronicle  and  exaggerate  her  impulsive  words, 
her  indiscretions,  and  her  eccentricities.  There  is  nothing 
in  American  history  so  unmanly,  so  devoid  of  every  chival- 
ric  impulse,  as  the  treatment  of  this  poor,  broken-hearted 
woman,  whose  reason  was  shattered  by  the  great  tragedy  of 
her  life." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  loyal  American  will  ever  per- 
petuate the  sensational  and  shameless  criticisms  of  Mrs.  Lin- 
coin,  that  at  the  time  were  only  too  eagerly  accepted.  Her 
husband's  motto  of  "  Malice  toward  none,  with  Charity  for 
all,"  should  shield  the  memory  of  the  mother  of  his  children, 
especially  since  she  would  willingly  have  harmed  no  one, 
and  his  goodness  and  greatness  redeemed  a  race  and  saved  a 
nation  from  anarchy  and  ruin. 


CHAPTEE  XLYI. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE    HOUSE,   CONTINUED  —  SOME   BRAVE 

AND  HUMBLE    MISTRESSES   OF  THE 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

The  Wife  of  President  Andrew  Johnson  —  A  Ragged  Urchin  and  a  Street 
Arab  —  Johnson's  Ignorance  at  Eighteen  —  Taught  to  Write  by  the 
Village  School-Teacher  —  He  Marries  Her  — Following  the  Humble 
Trade  of  a  Tailor  —  His  Wife  Teaches  Him  While  He  Works  —  Begin- 
ning of  His  Political  Career  — The  Ravages  of  Civil  War  in  Tennessee 

—  Two    Years  of  Exile  — Hunted  From  Place  to   Place  —  Secretly 
Burying  the  Dead  — A  Night  of  Horrors  —  Re-united  to  Her  Husband 

—  Entering  the  White  House  Broken  in  Health  and  Spirits—  "  My 
Dears,  I  Am  an  Invalid  "  —  The  Reign  of  Martha  Patterson,  President 
Johnson's  Oldest  Daughter—  "  We  Are  Plain  People  "  —  Filthy  Con- 
dition of  the  White  House  After  the  War  —  Wrestling  with  Rags  and 
Ruin  —  Noble  and  Self-denying  Women  —  Noble  Characters  of  John 
son's  Wife  and  Daughters  —  The  Record  of  Their  Spotless  Fame. 


FTER  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Andrew  Johnson,  then  Yice-President,  became 
the  seventeenth  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  father,  who  died  when  he  was  a  child,  had 
been  a  constable,  a  sexton,  and  a  porter,  and  fol- 
lowed these  humble  occupations  for  many  years  at 
the  little  town  of  Greenville,  Tennessee.  As  a  boy,  Andrew 
Johnson  was  a  ragged  urchin,  a  street  Arab,  until  he  was 
ten  years  old,  supported  by  the  manual  labor  of  his  mother, 
who  belonged  to  that  most  unfortunate  class  known  in  the 
South  as  "poor  whites."  He  could  not  even  read,  then; 
indeed,  he  did  not  learn  the  alphabet  until  some  time  after. 

(656) 


THE   TEACHER  OF  ANDREW   JOHNSON.  657 

At  eighteen,  the  village  school-teacher,  Eliza  McCardle, 
a  girl  of  superior  intelligence  and  considerable  education 
became  his  instructor  and  taught  him  to  write.  He  married 
her,  and  she  continued  to  teach  him  while  he  worked  at 
the  humble  trade  of  a  tailor.  She  read  to  him  while 
he  worked,  and  taught  him  in  the  evening  arithmetic, 
geography,  -and  history.  He  gained  influence  over  mechan- 
ics and  manual  laborers,  and  by  the  time  he  was  of  age,  had 
taken  great  interest  in  politics,  to  which  he  adhered  through 
life.  After  filling  several  small  offices,  he  was  chosen  to 
the  lower  House  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  1843  was  sent  By 
the  democrats  to  Congress,  and  finally  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate. 

While  performing  his  duties  as  Senator  in  Washington 
his  family  were  shut  up  in  the  mountains  of  East  Tennessee, 
where  the  ravages  of  Civil  War  were  most  dreadful.  For 
more  than  two  years  he  was  unable  to  set  eyes  on  either 
wife  or  children.  With  other  Unionists,  of  East  Tennessee, 
these  brave,  loyal  women,  with  dependent  children,  were 
being  "  hunted  from  point  to  point,  driven  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  wilderness,  forced  to  subsist  on  coarse  and  insufficient 
food,  and  more  than  once  called  to  bury  with  secret  and 
stolen  sepulture  those  whom  they  loved." 

While  quietly  attending  to  her  household  duties,  Mrs. 
Johnson  received  the  following  abrupt  summons : 

"HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OP  EAST  TENNESSEE, 

"OFFICE  PROVOST  MARSHAL,  April  24th,  1862. 

"MRS.  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  Greenville, 

"  Dear  Madam  :  —  By  Major-General  E.  Kirby  Smith  I  am  directed  to 
respectfully  require  that  you  and  your  family  pass  beyond  the  Confederate 
States  line  (through  Nashville,  if  you  please)  in  thirty-six  hours  from  this 
date. 

"  Passports  will  be  granted  you  at  this  office. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  W.  M.  CHURCHWELL, 
"  Colonel  and  Provost  Marshal." 


TRIALS   OF  A  BAND   OF  REFUGEES. 

The  condition  of  her  health,  and  her  unsettled  affairs, 
made  it  impossible  for  her  to  comply  with  this  command. 
To  add  to  her  distress,  rumors  reached  her  from  time  to 
time  of  the  murder  of  Mr.  Johnson.  She  knew  not  what 
to  do,  and  begged  the  authorities  for  more  time  to  decide  on 
her  plans.  She  remained  in  Greenville  during  the  summer, 
hoping  daily  to  hear  from  her  husband.  No  word  came. 
In  September,  she  asked  permission  of  the  authorities  to 
cross  the  lines,  accompanied  by  her  children.  Reaching 
Murfreesboro,  exhausted  and  weary  from  the  long  trip,  the 
little  band  were  told  that  they  could  not  pass  through  the 
lines.  The  Confederate  troops  occupied  the  town,  and  no 
accommodations  were  to  be  had. 

Wandering  from  one  house  to  another,  in  the  night-time, 
the  hungry  and  weary  refugees  in  their  extremity  entreated 
a  woman  to  let  them  share  her  home,  and  a  grudging  consent 
was  given  with  the  understanding  that  in  the  morning  they 
would  depart.  The  next  day  they  returned  to  Tullahoma, 
only  to  receive  a  telegram  to  retrace  their  steps,  as  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  for  their  journey  through  to  Nash- 
ville. Night  again  found  the  little  band  at  Murfreesboro. 
No  effort  was  made  to  secure  lodgings,  none  caring  to 
repeat  the  experiences  of  the  previous  night.  An  eating- 
house  near  by  was  vacant,  and  in  this  the  tired  party  sought 
refuge.  Without  fire  or  sufficient  food,  or  any  kind  of  beds 
or  seats,  they  passed  the  night,  which  would  have  been  a 
night  of  horror  but  for  the  motherly  foresight  of  Mrs.  John- 
son. She  had  provided  herself  with  candles  and  matches 
before  starting,  and  the  stale  remains  of  a  lunch  satisfied 
the  hunger  of  the  little  grandchildren. 

During  this  trying  journey  the  little  band  was  subject  to 
the  commands  of  the  military  rulers,  liable  to  be  arrested 
for  the  slightest  offense,  and  oftentimes  insulted  by  the  rab- 
ble. Nashville  was  reached  at  last  and  the  family  were 
reunited.  Few  who  were  not  actual  participators  in  the 


THE    "PLAIN   PEOPLE  FROM  TENNESSEE."  659 

Civil  War  can  form  an  estimate  of  the  trials  of  this  noble 
woman.  Invalid  as  she  was,  she  yet  endured  heroically 
exposure  and  anxiety,  and  passed  through  the  extended 
lines  of  hostile  armies,  never  uttering  a  hasty  word,  or  by 
her  looks  betraying  in  the  least  degree  her  harrowed  feel- 
ings. She  was  remembered  by  friend  and  foe  as  a  lady 
of  benign  countenance  and  sweet  and  winning  manners. 

President  Johnson's  wife  came  to  Washington  broken 
in  health  and  spirits  by  the  suffering  and  bereavements 
through  which  she  had  passed.  She  was  never  seen  but  on 
one  public  occasion  at  the  White  House,  that  of  a  party 
given  to  her  grandchildren.  At  that  time  she  was  seated 
and  did  not  rise  when  the  children  or  other  guests  were 
presented,  but  simply  said,  "My  dears,  I  arn  an  invalid," 
and  her  sad,  pale  face  and  sunken  eyes  proved  the  expres- 
sion. But  an  observer  would  say,  contemplating  her,  "  A 
noble  woman,  God's  best  gift  to  man."  It  was  that  woman 
who  taught  the  future  President  how  to  write,  and  con- 
tinued to  teach  him  after  she  became  his  wife ;  and  in  all 
their  early  years  she  was  his  assistant,  counselor,  and  guide. 

During  her  husband's  administration,  the  heavy  duties 
and  honors  of  the  White  House  were  performed  by  her 
oldest  daughter,  Martha  Patterson,  the  wife  of  Senator  Pat- 
terson of  Tennessee.  The  President's  youngest  daughter, 
Mrs.  Stover,  entered  the  White  House  a  widow,  recently 
bereaved  of  her  husband,  who  fell  a  soldier  in  the  Union 
cause.  Martha  Patterson's  utterance,  soon  after  entering 
the  White  House,  was  a  key  to  her  character,  yet  scarcely  a 
promise  of  her  own  distinguished  management  of  the  Presi- 
dent's house.  She  said :  "  We  are  plain  people  from  the 
mountains  of  Tennessee,  called  here  for  a  short  time  by  a 
national  calamity.  I  trust  too  much  will  not  be  expected  of 
us."  But  from  Martha  Patterson  much  was  received,  and 
that  of  the  most  unobtrusive  and  noble  service. 

The  family  of  the  new  President  arrived  in  June.     The 


660  RENOVATING  THE  WHITE   HOUSE. 

house  looked  anything  but  inviting.  Soldiers  had  wandered 
unchallenged  through  the  parlors.  Guards  had  slept  upon 
the  sofas  and  carpets  till  they  were  ruined,  and  the  immense 
crowds  who,  during  the  preceding  years  of  war,  filled  the 
President's  house  continually  had  worn  out  the  already- 
ancient  furniture.  No  sign  of  neatness  or  comfort  greeted 
their  appearance,  but  evidences  of  neglect  and  decay  every- 
where met  their  eyes.  To  put  aside  all  ceremony  and  work 
incessantly,  was  the  portion  of  Mrs.  Patterson  from  the 
beginning.  It  was  her  practice  to  rise  very  early,  don  a 
calico  dress  and  spotless  apron,  and  attend  to  the  household 
duties  early. 

At  the  first  reception  of  President  Johnson,  held  Janu- 
ary 1,  1866,  the  White  House  had  not  been  renovated. 
Though  dingy  and  destitute  of  ornament  Martha  Patterson 
had,  by  dint  of  covering  its  old  carpets  with  pure  linen, 
hiding  its  stains  with  fresh  flowers,  and  admitting  her  beau- 
tiful children  freely  to  the  rooms,  given  it  an  aspect  of 
purity,  beauty,  and  cheer,  to  which  it  had  long  been  a 
stranger.  In  the  spring,  Congress  appropriated  $30,000  to 
the  renovation  of  the  White  House.  After  consulting  vari- 
ous firms,  Mrs.  Patterson  found  that  it  would  take  the  whole 
amount  to  furnish  the  parlors.  Feeling  a  personal  respon- 
sibility to  the  government  for  the  expenditure  of  the  money, 
she  determined  not  to  exceed  the  appropriation.  She  made 
herself  its  agent,  and  superintended  the  purchases  for  the 
dismantled  house  herself.  Instead  of  seeking  pleasure  by 
the  sea,  or  ease  in  her  own  mountain  home,  the  hot  summer 
waxed  and  waned  only  to  leave  the  brave  woman  where  it 
found  her,  wrestling  with  fragments  and  ruins  that  were  to 
be  reset,  repolished,  "  made  over  as  good  as  new."  Tor  her- 
self? No,  for  her  country ;  and  all  this  in  addition  to  caring 
for  husband,  children,  and  invalid  mother.  A  mistaken 
economy  and  an  unwise  assumption  of  duties  that  did  not 
belong  to  her. 


THE  REIGN  OF  MARTHA  PATTERSON.  661 

As  the  result  of  this  ceaseless  industry  and  self-denial, 
the  President's  house  was  thoroughly  renovated  from  cellar 
to  attic  and  put  in  perfect  order.  When  it  was  opened  for 
the  winter  season,  the  change  was  marvelous,  even  to  the 
dullest  eyes ;  but  very  few  knew  that  the  fresh,  bright  ap- 
pearance of  the  historic  house  was  all  due  to  the  energy, 
industry,  taste,  and  tact  of  one  woman,  the  President's 
daughter.  The  warm  comfort  of  the  dining-room,  the  ex- 
quisite tints  of  the  Blue  Eoom,  the  restful  neutral  hues 
meeting  and  blending  in  carpets  and  furniture,  were  evi- 
dence of  the  pure  taste  of  Martha  Patterson. 

The  dress  of  the  ladies  of  the  White  House  was  equally 
remarkable.  All  who  went  expecting  to  see  the  "  plain 
people  from  Tennessee"  overloaded  with  new  ornaments 
were  disappointed.  Instead,  they  saw  beside  the  President 
a  young,  golden-haired  woman,  dressed  in  full  mourning, — 
the  sad  badge  still  worn  for  the  gallant  husband  slain  in 
war, —  and  a  slender  woman  with  a  single  white  flower  in 
her  dark  hair,  airy  laces  about  the  throat  above  a  high  cor- 
sage ;  a  robe-  of  soft,  rich  tints,  and  a  shawl  of  lace  veiling 
the  slender  figure.  It  was  like  a  picture  in  half -tints,  sooth- 
ing to  the  sight;  yet  the  dark  hair,  broad  brow,  and  large 
eyes  were  full  of  silent  force  and  reserved  power.  The 
chaste  elegance  of  the  attire  of  these  "plain  people  from 
Tennessee"  was  never  surpassed  by  that  of  any  ladies  of 
the  White  House. 

The  state  dinners  given  by  President  Johnson  were  con- 
ducted on  a  generous,  almost  princely  scale,  and  reflected 
lasting  honor  upon  Mrs.  Patterson,  to  whom  was  committed 
the  entire  care  and  arrangement  of  every  social  entertain- 
ment. Simple  and  democratic  in  her  own  personal  tastes, 
she  had  a  high  sense  of  what  was  due  to  the  position,  and 
to  the  people,  from  the  family  of  the  President  of  a  great 
nation.  This  sense  of  duty  and  justice  led  her  to  spare  no 
pains  in  her  management  of  official  entertainments,  and  the 


662  WOMEN  RESPECTED   AND   BELOVED. 

same  high  qualities  made  her  keep  the  White  House  parlors 
and  conservatories  open  and  ready  for  the  crowds  of  people 
who  daily  visited  them,  at  any  cost  to  her  own  comfort. 

During  the  impeachment  trial  of  her  father,  unflinch- 
ingly Mrs.  Patterson  bent  every  energy  to  entertain  as 
usual,  as  became  her  position,  wearing  always  a  patient, 
suffering  look.  Through  the  long  weeks  of  the  trial  she 
listened  to  every  request,  saw  every  caller,  and  served  every 
petitioner  (and  only  those  who  have  filled  this  position  know 
how  arduous  is  this  duty),  hiding  from  all  eyes  the  anxious 
weight  of  care  oppressing  herself.  That  her  health  failed 
after  the  acquittal,  astonished  no  one  who  had  seen  her 
struggling  to  keep  up  before. 

But  no  matter  what  the  accusations  against  Andrew 
Johnson,  they  died  into  silence  without  touching  his  family. 
If  corruption  crossed  the  outer  portals  of  the  White  House, 
the  whole  land  knew  that  they  never  penetrated  into  the 
pure  recesses  of  the  President's  home.  Whatever  Andrew 
Johnson  was  or  was  not,  no  partisan  foe  was  bitter  or  false 
enough  to  throw  a  shadow  of  reproach  against  the  noble 
characters  of  his  wife  and  daughters.  There  wras  no  insinu- 
ation, no  charge  against  them.  No  family  ever  left  Wash- 
ington more  respected  by  the  powerful,  more  lamented  by 
the  poor.  From  the  Nation's  House,  which  they  had  re- 
deemed and  honored,  they  went  back  empty-handed  to  their 
own  dismantled  home  in  Tennessee,  followed  by  the' esteem 
and  affection  of  all  who  knew  them.  The  White  House 
holds  the  record  of  their  spotless  fame. 

The  last  twenty  years  of  Martha  Patterson's  life  were 
spent  quietly  in  her  old  home  in  Greenville,  Tenn.  Bereft 
of  her  husband,  for  many  years,  she  devoted  herself  to  her 
two  children  and  to  charitable  work  among  the  poor. 
Here  on  July  10,  1901,  she  died,  almost  in  sight  of  the  spot 
on  which  once  stood  the  little  one-room  log  cabin  in  which 
she  was  born. 


CHAPTEK  XLVII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND   FAMOUS  LADIES  OP 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — GENERAL  GRANT'S 

COURTSHIP  — MRS.  GRANT'S  REIGN  AT 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

The  Youth  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant  —  His  Standing  at  West  Point  —  Intimacy 
With  the  Dent  Family  — Meets  His  Future  Wife  — Finding  Out 
"  What  Was  the  Matter  "  —  A  Half-Drowned  Lover  —  Engagement  to 
Miss  Dent  —  A  Bride  at  a  Western  Army  Post  —  Assuming  New  Re- 
sponsibilities —  At  the  Beginning  of  the  Civil  War  —  Mrs.  Grant  as 
the  Wife  of  a  Gallant  Soldier  —  Her  Ceaseless  Anxieties  —  Inspiring 
and  Encouraging  Her  Husband  —  Comforting  the  Bereaved  and  Minis- 
tering to  the  Sick  —  Triumphant  Return  of  General  Grant — His  Elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency  —  Remembering  Old  Friends  — The  Grant  Chil- 
dren and  Their  Playmates  at  the  White  House  —  Marriage  of  Nellie 
Grant  —  Making  a  Home  of  the  "Executive  Mansion"  —  Royal 
Guests  —  Simple  and  Happy  Family  Life  —  The  Journey  Around  the 
World  —  Return  to  the  Old  Home  —  General  Grant's  Reverses  and 
Physical  Suffering  —  Mrs.  Grant  in  Later  Years. 


NDKEW  JOHNSON  was  succeeded  by  Ulysses  S. 
Grant,  twice  President  of  the  United  States. 
But  for  the  Civil  War,  and  the  opportunities  it 
gave  him  of  displaying  his  military  genius,  it  is 
entirely  probable  that  his  merit  would  never  have 
been  recognized  and  he  might  have  passed  his  life  in 
obscurity.  If  any  one  had  predicted,  on  the  election  of 
Lincoln,  that  Grant  would  become  one  of  the  greatest  mili- 
tary commanders  of  the  world,  and  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  would  have  been  utterly  disbelieved.  No  one 
suspected  that  he  was  in  any  way  remarkable  until  he  had 

37  (663) 


664  RECREATIONS   OF   A  YOUNG   SOLDIER. 

demonstrated  his  ability  by  his  deeds.  lie  received  the 
rudiments  of  education  at  a  common  school,  entered  West 
Point  as  a  cadet  at  seventeen,  and  was  graduated  four  years 
later,  standing  twenty -first  in  a  class  of  thirty-nine,  which  is 
not  a  flattering  record. 

One  of  Grant' s  classmates  at  West  Point,  in  the  last  year 
of  the  course,  was  F.  T.  Dent,  whose  family  resided  about 
five  miles  west  of  Jefferson  Barracks,  St.  Louis.  After  his 
graduation  Grant  was  ordered  to  report  for  duty  at  Jeffer- 
son Barracks.  He  soon  found  time  to  call  at  the  home  of  his 
old  classmate,  where  he  met  Miss  Julia  Dent,  his  classmate's 
sister,  a  boarding-school  girl  of  seventeen.  "As  I  found  the 
family  congenial,"  he  says,  "my  visits  became  frequent." 
The  following  spring  Miss  Dent  returned  from  boarding- 
school.  "After  that,"  says  the  General,  "  I  do  not  know  but 
my  visits  became  more  frequent ;  they  certainly  did  become 
more  enjoyable.  We  would  often  take  walks,  or  go  on 
horseback  to  visit  the  neighbors,  until  I  became  quite  well 
acquainted  in  that  vicinity.  Sometimes  one  of  the  brothers 
would  accompany  us,  sometimes  one  of  the  younger  sisters. 
If  the  4th  Infantry  had  remained  at  Jefferson  Barracks  it  is 
possible,  even  probable,  that  this  life  might  have  continued 
for  some  years  without  my  finding  out  that  there  was  any- 
thing serious  the  matter  with  me ;  but  in  the  following  May 
a  circumstance  occurred  which  developed  my  sentiment  so 
palpably  that  there  was  no  mistaking  it." 

The  circumstance  he  alludes  to  was  the  departure  of  his 
regiment,  the  4th  Infantry,  for  Louisiana.  Just  before  this 
time  he  had  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  twenty  days  to  go 
to  Ohio  to  visit  his  parents.  He  says :  "  I  now  discovered 
that  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  get  back  to  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, and  I  understood  the  reason  without  explanation 
from  any  one."  At  the  end  of  the  twenty  days  he  reported 
for  duty  and  asked  for  a  few  days  additional  leave  before 
starting  for  his  regiment,  which  was  readily  granted.  He 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  LOVE   STORY.  665 

immediately  procured  a  horse  and  started  for  the  home  of 
the  Dent  family.  Between  Jefferson  Barracks  and  Miss 
Dent's  home  was  a  creek  which,  owing  to  recent  heavy 
rains,  was  full  to  overflowing  and  the  current  was  rapid. 
After  a  moment's  hesitation  he  decided  to  ford  the  stream, 
and  in  an  instant  his  horse  was  swimming  and  Grant  was 
being  carried  down  rapidly  by  the  swift  current. 

To  quote  his  own  words :  "  I  headed  the  horse  towards 
the  other  bank  and  soon  reached  it,  wet  through  and  with- 
out other  clothes  on  that  side  of  the  stream.  I  went  on, 
however,  to  my  destination,  and  borrowed  a  dry  suit  from 
my  —  future  —  brother-in-law.  We  were  not  of  the  same 
size,  but  the  clothes  answered  every  purpose  until  I  got 
more  of  my  own.  Before  I  returned  I  mustered  up  courage 
to  make  known,  in  the  most  awkward  manner  imaginable, 
the  discovery  I  had  made  on  learning  that  the  4th  Infantry 
had  been  ordered  away  from  Jefferson  Barracks.  The  young 
lady  afterwards  admitted  that  she,  too,  although  until  then 
she  had  never  looked  upon  me  other  than  as  a  visitor  whose 
company  was  agreeable  to  her,  had  experienced  a  depression 
of  spirits  she  could  not  account  for  when  the  regiment  left. 

"  Before  separating  it  was  definitely  understood  that  at  a 
convenient  time  we  would  join  our  fortunes,  and  not  let  the 
removal  of  a  regiment  trouble  us.  This  was  in  May,  1844. 
It  was  the  22d  of  August,  1848,  before  the  fulfillment  of 
this  agreement.  My  duties  kept  me  on  the  frontier,  .  .  .  and 
afterwards  I  was  absent  through  the  war  with  Mexico.  .  .  . 
During  that  time  there  was  a  constant  correspondence  be- 
tween Miss  Dent  and  myself,  but  we  only  met  once  in  the 
period  of  four  years  and  three  months.  In  May,  1845,  I 
procured  a  leave  for  twenty  days,  visited  St.  Louis,  and 
obtained  the  consent  of  her  parents  for  the  union,  which 
had  not  been  asked  for  before." 

A  Western  military  station  offered  none  of  the  attractions 
that  these  same  posts  extend  to  the  brides  who  marry  into 


606  STRUGGLES   OF  EARLY  YEARS. 

the  army  to-day,  but  Julia  Dent  had  no  hesitancy  in  giving 
up  the  luxuries  of  her  father's  home,  and  the  place  she  held 
in  the  social  world  in  her  native  city,  for  the  discomforts  and 
inconveniences  of  a  lieutenant's  quarters  at  an  army  post. 
She  was  inexperienced  in  the  responsibilities  of  housekeep- 
ing and  the  management  of  servants,  because  the  turbaned 
"  mammies "  and  maids  of  slavery  days  had  watched  over 
her  tenderly  all  her  life,  but  she  loved  her  husband  and  for 
his  sake  willingly  assumed  all  these  domestic  duties.  For 
years  they  struggled  against  varying  fortunes,  she  with  pa- 
tience, pride,  and  devotion  performing  her  part  right  nobly. 
During  these  years  four  children  came  to  bless  them  and  to 
inspire  them  to  greater  exertion  and  sacrifice.  The  role  of 
.wife  and  mother  was  never  more  faithfully  performed  than 
by  Mrs.  Grant,  whether  fortune  smiled  or  frowned. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-two  Lieutenant  Grant  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  army,  and  worked  on  a  farm  belonging 
to  his  father-in-law,  near  St.  Louis.  He  was  a  real  estate 
agent  in  that  city,  then  a  clerk  to  his  father,  then  a  leather 
merchant  at  Galena,  Illinois.  When  the  great  Civil  War 
began,  and  the  West  was  aroused  to  a  realization  of  the  fact 
that  a  conflict  was  inevitable,  among  the  first  to  tender  his 
services  to  the  Governor  of  Illinois,  to  aid  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  troops,  was  Lieut.  U.  S.  Grant,  late  of  the  U.  S. 
Army.  Military  tacticians  were  very  scarce  in  the  West  be- 
cause of  the  years  of  peace  which  had  preceded  the  Rebellion. 
Lieutenant  Grant  proved  so  efficient  as  drill  master  of  the 
Volunteers  that  Governor  Yates  immediately  commissioned 
him  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois.  Colonel  Grant 
assumed  command  of  his  regiment  and  started  to  the  front, 
leaving  Mrs.  Grant  to  care  for  the  home  and  children  until 
peace  should  dawn  upon  a  reunited  country. 

Bravely  she  bade  him  go,  and  without  repining  assumed 
her  double  duties,  relieving  him  from  all  embarrassment 
about  their  separation  by  her  cheerful  submission  to  what 


ANXIOUS  DAYS  IN  WAR-TIME.  667 

seemed  his  patriotic  duty.  Through  the  four  long  years  of 
warfare  Mrs.  Grant  never  for  a  moment  hindered  General 
Grant  in  his  career  by  her  importunities  to  be  allowed  to 
join  him  or  for  him  to  return  to  his  family.  On  the  con- 
trary, she  constantly  encouraged  him  and  relieved  him  from 
all  anxiety  by  assuring  him  that  all  was  well  at  home. 

No  woman  ever  suffered  more  keenly  through  solicitude 
for  her  husband's  welfare,  or  because  of  his  absence,  but  she 
never  shrank  from  her  duty.  I  saw  her  in  Cairo  before  the 
army  moved  up  the  Tennessee  to  capture  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson  ;  saw  her  again  before  the  Shiloh  and  Corinth 
campaign,  and  know  what  she  suffered  during  those  event- 
ful months.  During  the  Yicksburg  campaign,  when  day 
after  day  the  telegraph  announced  the  casualties  of  the 
siege  and  almost  every  house  was  one  of  mourning,  Mrs. 
Grant  spent  her  time  in  trying  to  comfort  the  bereaved,  and 
to  buoy  up  ihe  spirits  of  those  whose  husbands,  fathers,  and 
brothers  were  in  the  field,  never  taxing  any  one  with  her 
own  anxieties  and  fears  for  her  husband's  safety.  Busy 
with  the  care  of  her  young  family  and  in  helping  the  un- 
fortunate about  her,  she  resolutely  strove  to  forget  the  haz- 
ard of  every  hour. 

For  the  two  long  years  of  General  Grant's  stupendous 
operations  in  Virginia,  after  the  fall  of  Yicksburg  and  his 
transfer  from  the  West  to  the  East,  Mrs.  Grant  still  watched 
and  waited  for  the  end,  meanwhile  sending  messages  of  good 
cheer  to  her  husband,  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded, 
and  in  every  way  possible  assisting  the  families  of  the  sol- 
diers. The  bereavements  and  distress  of  her  friends,  through 
the  inevitable  disasters  of  war,  were  almost  personal  griefs 
to  her,  so  sincerely  did  she  sympathize  with  them. 

Finally,  when  the  war  clouds  had  passed,  and  General 
Grant  returned,  he  found  his  faithful  wife  still  waiting  and 
watching  over  their  loved  ones.  Her  happiness  in  all  that 
he  had  achieved  was  only  clouded  by  the  thought  that  so 


668  A  VERITABLE   LADY   BOUNTIFUL. 

many  of  her  friends  were  clothed  in  habiliments  of  mourning 
and  were  unable  to  participate  in  the  general  rejoicing  over 
the  termination  of  the  war.  The  universal  acclaim  of  the 
people  and  the  abundance  of  honors  heaped  upon  General 
Grant  and  his  family  made  no  difference  in  Mrs.  Grant. 
She  was  the  same  thoughtful,  generous,  devoted  wife  and 
mother,  whose  loyalty  to  family  and  friends  made  her 
equally  beloved  with  her  husband  by  the  whole  nation. 

After  General  Grant's  election  to  the  Presidency,  and 
their  installation  in  the  White  House,  she  was  still  the  same 
unpretentious,  sincere  friend  of  the  unfortunate.  Among 
the  first  invited  guests  to  the  Executive  Mansion  were  the 
associates  whom  she  had  known  in  earlier  days.  Nothing 
was  too  much  to  do  or  to  command  for  these  friends  who 
had  been  her  comforters  before  fortune  had  smiled  upon 
her.  Many  sought  her  aid  and  sympathy,  and  were  never 
turned  away  impatiently  —  she  at  least  made  an  appeal  for 
them.  Every  member  of  President  Grant's  Cabinet  had  sto- 
ries to  tell  of  Mrs.  Grant's  tender  heart  and  her  interest  in 
the  unfortunate.  Not  only  at  Christmas  time,  when  the 
asylums  and  charitable  associations  of  Washington  received 
donations  from  her,  and  with  the  members  of  her  own  fam- 
ily, her  friends  and  their  children  were  most  generously 
remembered,  but  all  the  year  round,  she  was  a  veritable 
«  Lady  Bountiful." 

In  one  thing  it  must  be  admitted  that  Mrs.  Grant  was 
most  lenient.  She  could  never  discipline  either  her  servants 
or  her  children,  her  kind  heart  always  suggesting  some  ex- 
cuse for  misdemeanors  or  neglect  of  duty.  She  was  never 
so  happy  as  when  planning  some  entertainment  or  indulgence 
for  her  children  and  the  multitude  of  friends  they  had.  The 
basement  of  the  White  House  was  utilized  for  the  boisterous 
games  of  the  boys  who  were  always  with  her  young1  sons, 
while  the  daughter  had  full  sway  on  the  upper  floor  with  her 
girl  companions. 


NELLIE  GRANT'S  BRILLIANT  WEDDING.  669 

During  President  Grant's  second  term  he  and  Mrs.  Grant 
yielded  with  reluctance  to  the  importunities  of  Mr.  Algernon 
Sartoris,  and  consented  to  his  marriage  to  their  only  daugh- 
ter. It  was  a  bitter  trial,  for  she  was  to  accompany  him  to 
England,  with  the  expectation  of  making  that  country  her 
permanent  home.  Their  daughter's  happiness  was  para- 
mount to  all  else  with  them,  and  though  they  did  not 
approve  of  her  choice,  when  they  found  she  could  not  be 
persuaded  out  of  it,  they  allowed  her  to  have  everything  as 
she  wished  it  should  be. 

Undoubtedly  Nellie  Grant's  was  the  most  elaborate  wed- 
ding that  ever  took  place  in  the  White  House.  Social  affairs 
in  Washington  were  never  more  brilliant  than  at  that  time. 
The  city  was  full  of  officers  of  the  Army  and  the  Navy  who 
had  won  distinction  during  the  Civil  War.  The  Diplomatic 
Corps  was  never  composed  of  more  distinguished  men, 
many  of  whom,  as  also  numberless  citizens,  were  wealthy  and 
entertained  lavishly  and  constantly.  Nellie  was  so  young 
and  so  much  beloved  that,  while  her  friends  were  unwilling 
te  part  with  her,  every  one  was  ready  to  pay  her  the  most 
delightful  attentions  and  to  lavish  upon  her  the  costliest  of 
gifts. 

The  wedding  took  place  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of 
May,  1874, —  a  glorious  spring  day,  when  the  soft  air  was 
laden  with  the  perfume  of  blossoming  magnolias  and  catal- 
pas.  Everything  seemed  to  speak  of  new  life  and  happiness. 
The  White  House  had  been  elaborately  decorated,  and  a 
profusion  of  orange  blossoms  from  the  South  filled  the  beau- 
tiful rooms  with  their  fragrance.  The  guests  were  a  brilliant 
and  distinguished  company.  Soon  after  the  impressive  cer- 
emony, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sartoris  departed  from  the  White 
House  upon  the  first  stage  of  their  journey  toward  their 
English  home. 

Soon  after,  their  eldest  son,  Colonel  Grant,  was  married 
to  the  beautiful  Miss  Honore  of  Chicago,  and  she  came  to 


670  HOME  COMFORT  AND   HOSPITALITY. 

fill  the  place  of  daughter  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Grant, 
bestowing  a  daughter's  affection  during  the  most  trying 
ordeals  of  their  lives. 

Life  at  the  White  House  under  the  administration  of 
President  Grant  was  a  purely  domestic  one.  It  was  the  re- 
mark of  all  who  had  known  its  past  that  the  "White  House 
never  looked  more  home-like.  It  took  on  this  aspect  under 
the  reign  of  Martha  Patterson.  Afterward,  pictures  and 
ornaments  were  added,  one  by  one,  till  all  its  oldtime  stiff- 
ness seemed  to  merge  into  a  look  of  solid  comfort.  Its  roof 
might  leak  occasionally  —  and  it  certainly  was  built  before 
the  day  of  "  modern  conveniences'" —  it  might  be  altogether 
inadequate  to  be  the  house  of  the  President  of  a  great  Na> 
tion;  nevertheless,  that  Nation  had  no  occasion  to  be 
ashamed  of  its  order  or  adornment  during  President  Grant's 
administration.  The  house  was  greatly  improved  by  Mrs. 
Grant's  suggestions.  Many  plants  and  flowers  were  added 
to  the  conservatories,  and  were  used  with  much  taste  in  the 
adornment  of  the  rooms. 

President  and  Mrs.  Grant  entertained  more  distinguished 
people  and  scions  of  royalty  than  any  other  occupants  of 
the  White  House.  Among  them  were  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh, the  Grand  Duke  Alexis  of  Kussia ;  King  Kalakaua ; 
and  the  first  Japanese  and  Chinese  ministers  after  the  sign- 
ing of  the  Burlingame  treaty.  I  was  present  at  the  state 
dinners  and  receptions  tendered  these  celebrities,  and  have 
since  sat  at  the  tables  of  royalty  more  than  once,  and  I  can 
aver  they  in  no  wise  surpassed  in  bounty,  elegance,  and  good 
taste  the  entertainments  of  President  and  Mrs.  Grant. 

While  neither  the  President  nor  Mrs.  Grant  could  ever 
have  been  considered  fine  conversationalists,  no  one  partook 
of  their  hospitality  who  was  not  charmed  by  them  both  be- 
cause of  their  sincere  and  unpretentious  cordiality.  General 
Grant  was  full  of  quiet  humor,  and  particularly  enjoyed  a 
joke  at  Mrs.  Grant's  expense,  her  frankness  and  pronounced 


DIGNITY   AND   SELF-CONTROL   OF  MRS.    GRANT.          671 

opinions  frequently  giving  him  opportunity  to  turn  what 
might  sometimes  have  proved  embarrassing,  particularly 
when  those  opinions  were  in  contravention  to  those  of  a 
guest.  Mrs.  Grant  never  remembered  individual  character- 
istics or  histories.  Her  kindly  nature  would  never  permit 
her  purposely  to  wound  any  one,  but  she  often  failed  to  re- 
member those  personal  circumstances,  tastes,  or  opinions 
which  make  it  dangerous,  sometimes,  to  express  oneself  too 
frankly.  The  absolute  harmony  of  their  domestic  lives  wa& 
ideal.  The  boasted  domestic  bliss  of  our  ancestors  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Republic  furnishes  no  history  of  a  happier 
or  more  united  pair. 

The  latter  part  of  General  Grant's  second  term  was  full 
of  sorrow,  and  yet  no  one  could  have  imagined  Mrs.  Grant's 
distress  over  the  vituperation  poured  out  upon  her  husband, 
so  careful  was  she  not  to  gratify  his  enemies  by  betraying 
her  unhappiness.  In  their  wonderful  journey  around  the 
world  no  woman  could  have  borne  herself  with  greater 
dignity  and  self-possession  than  did  Mrs.  Grant  on  all  occa- 
sions, many  of  them  most  unusual,  her  kind  heart  and  un- 
affected manner  then,  as  ever,  winning  hosts  of  friends. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  one  of  the  party  who  went 
to  Galena  to  meet  them  in  their  old  home  in  that  city  on 
their  return  from  abroad,  and  can  never  forget  that  occa- 
sion, when,  as  if  the  wheel  of  Time  had  been  turned  back, 
we  were  again  under  their  hospitable  roof,  with  all  the 
changes  and  scenes  of  the  intervening  years  lingering  only 
in  memory  like  dreams  of  the  past.  Their  friends  of  yore 
had  replaced  everything,  as  nearly  as  possible,  as  it  was 
twenty  years  before ;  many  of  their  old  neighbors  sat  round 
the  dinner  table  that  night,  and  but  for  the  touches  of  the 
finger  of  Time  no  one  could  have  believed  the  fifth  of  a 
century  had  rolled  away  since  their  last  home-coming. 
Both  the  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  were  very  merry  that 
night,  telling  without  restraint  of  the  incidents  and  experi- 


672  YEARS  OF  SORROW   AND   SUFFERING. 

ences  of  their  travels  around  the  globe.  After  a  short  stay 
in  Galena  they  went  on  to  Chicago,  where  such  a  reception 
awaited  them  as  had  never  before  been  extended  to  anyone. 

The  six  years  next  ensuing  were  years  of  trouble,  suffer- 
ing, and  anxiety.  General  Grant's  connection  with  the  firm 
of  Grant  &  Ward  was  most  unfortunate.  His  ignorance  of 
the  character  of  the  business  of  the  firm  in  which  he  was  a 
partner,  shows  his  unreserved  and  trusting  faith  in  men,  and 
of  his  somewhat  defective  judgment  concerning  them.  After 
the  collapse  of  the  firm,  in  which  Grant  was  the  victim  of 
his  partner's  rascalities,  universal  sympathy  was  extended 
to  him  on  account  of  his  financial  adversities.  Despite  the 
mistakes  of  which  he  was  bitterly  accused  in  public  life,  and 
out  of  it,  the  fact  was  never  lost  sight  of  that  the  Nation 
owed  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  it  never  could  repay. 

Much  of  the  criticism  of  him  was  unjust.  His  well- 
known  generosity  of  nature  led  him  to  place  cordial  confi- 
dence in  those  who  traded  on  his  good  name  and  deceived 
him. 

A  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  in  1884  placing  ex- 
President  Grant  on  the  retired  list  of  the  army,  with  the 
rank  and  full  pa}7  of  general,  and  it  was  passed  by  a  unani- 
mous vote.  A  bill  to  grant  him  a  pension  of  $5,000  a  year 
was  withdrawn  at  his  own  request. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  General  Grant  became  seriously 
ill  from  a  cancerous  affection  of  the  throat.  "  Nothing  in 
his  career,"  says  General  Horace  Porter,  "  was  more  heroic 
than  the  literary  labor  he  now  performed.  Hovering  be- 
tween life  and  death,  suffering  almost  constant  agony,  and 
some  of  the  time  speechless  from  disease,  he  struggled 
through  his  daily  task  and  laid  down  his  pen  only  four  days 
before  his  death."  This  literary  labor  was  the  preparation 
of  his  "  Memoirs,"  by  the  publication  of  which  he  hoped  to 
retrieve  the  pecuniary  losses  he  had  suffered  through  the' 
treachery  of  supposed  friends. 


MRS.    GRANT  IN   HER  WIDOWHOOD.  673 

During  his  illness  the  people  everywhere  responded  with 
pathetic  interest  to  the  accounts  of  his  great  suffering,  which 
he  endured  with  patience  and  manly  fortitude.  He  died 
at  Mount  McGregor,  N.  Y.,  July  22,  1885,  and  was  buried 
at  Riverside  Park,  New  York  City,  where  a  magnificent 
tomb  marks  his  last  resting-place. 

In  all  those  long,  weary  months  of  suffering,  Mrs.  Grant 
kept  the  vigil  that  only  the  most  devoted  love  could  keep, 
courageously  restraining  her  anguish  through  fear  of  its 
effect  upon  her  husband.  As  soon  as  she  could  rally  after 
his  death  she  interested  herself  in  her  children  and  her 
grandchildren,  and  to  this  day  devotes  all  her  time  to  them 
and  to  the  alleviation  of  the  burdens  of  her  kindred  and 
friends.  She  divides  her  income  between  her  children  and 
dependent  relatives  with  lavish  generosity,  but  in  such  ab- 
solute silence  that  few  people  know  anything  about  it  except 
the  recipients.  She  is  ambitious  for  every  one  of  her  chil- 
dren and  children's  children.  The  marriage  of  General 
Frederick  Grant's  daughter  to  Prince  Catacuzene  of  Russia 
she  considered  a  compliment  to  the  Russian  Prince  far  in 
excess  of  any  honor  the  Prince  could  confer  on  a  grand- 
daughter of  General  Grant.  This  granddaughter  bears  her 
name  and  is  a  great  favorite  with  her. 

Her  home  in  Washington  is  not  pretentious,  but  beauti- 
ful in  its  appointments,  and  rich  in  the  great  number  of 
valuable  souvenirs  which  were  given  to  her  illustrious  hus- 
band. There  may  she  happily  spend  the  closing  years  of  a 
life  that  has  ever  been  abundant  in  good  deeds,  and  sugges- 
tive of  all  that  is  worthy  of  emulation.  Of  her  husband  it 
has  been  well  said :  "  Lincoln  gave  us  Emancipation,  and  we 
bow  before  the  majesty  of  that  deed.  Grant  gave  us  Peace 
and  Financial  Integrity.  As  blessings  of  civilization,  they 
will  live  with  a  glory  as  undying  as  that  of  the  Proclama- 
tion which  gave  freedom  to  the  slave." 


CHAPTER  XLYIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE   HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — THE  REFINING 

REIGN  OF  MRS.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

A  Woman  of  Remarkable  Ability  —  Meets  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  a  Rising 
Young  Lawyer — Their  Marriage  —  General  Hayes'  Brilliant  Army 
Record  —  Promoted  to  General  for  Extraordinary  Services  —  Wounded 
Four  Times  —  Mrs.  Hayes'  Visits  to  Her  Wounded  Husband  —  Two 
Winters  in  Camp  —  Ministering  to  the  Sick  and  Wounded  —  Gen- 
eral Hayes  Elected  President  —  Mrs.  Hayes'  Reign  in  the  White  House 

—  Her  Personal  Appearance  and  Traits  of  Character  —  Her  Dignified 
and  Charming  Presence  —  Banishing  Wine  from  the  President's  Table 

—  Her  Love  of  Flowers  —  Magnificent  Dinners  and  Receptions  —  A 
Superb  State  Dinner  to  Royalty  — How  the  Question  of  the  Use  of 
Wine  at  the  White  House  Was  Decided— Leaving  the  White  House- 
Returning  to  Their  Modest  Home  — Death  of  Mrs.  Hayes  —  President 
McKinley's  Estimate  of  Ex-President  Hayes  — His  Death. 

\ 

»T  is  no  disparagement  to  any  one  of  the  noble 
women  who  have  filled  the  position  of  mistress 
of  the  White  House  to  say  that,  all  in  all,  Lucy 
Webb  Hayes  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  as 
having  been  by  birth,  education,  experience,  ac- 
quirements, and  disposition  the  best-equipped  for  this 
high  place.  On  the  maternal  side  she  came  from  the  best 
Puritan  blood  of  New  England,  while  her  father  was  of 
sturdy  North  Carolina  stock.  They  were  people  of  means, 
education,  and  refinement.  Her  mother,  a  woman  of 
remarkable  ability,  being  left  a  widow  when  her  children 
were  young,  decided  to  remove  from  Chillicothe  to  Dela- 
ware, Ohio,  so  as  to  give  them  the  advantages  of  an  educa- 
tion at  the  Wesleyan  University. 

(674) 


EARLY   LIFE  OF  MR.    AND   MRS.    HAYES.  675 

Lucy  Ware  "Webb  shared  with  her  brothers  the  privi- 
leges of  that  institution,  studying  under  the  same  professors. 
She  prepared  for  the  Wesleyan  Female  College  at  Cin- 
cinnati, entering  that  college  at  the  same  time  her  brothers 
began  their  collegiate  course.  Her  natural  talents  were 
of  the  highest  order,  combined  with  most  conscientious 
principles;  and  when  she  was  graduated  in  1852,  she  had 
won  not  only  first  honors  for  her  scholarly  attainments,  but 
the  love  and  admiration  of  the  faculty  and  her  associates. 

Her  vivacity  of  spirits  and  winning  ways  made  her  a 
universal  favorite.  During  a  vacation  she  visited  Delaware 
Sulphur  Springs,  where  she  met  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  then 
a  rising  young  lawyer  of  Cincinnati,  though  a  native  of 
Delaware.  From  that  moment  Mr.  Hayes  became  her 
suitor,  and  two  years  after  their  first  meeting  they  were 
married,  December,  1852.  It  was  the  kind  of  marriage  that 
is  said  to  be  made  in  Heaven. 

For  some  years  they  led  a  quiet  domestic  life,  Mrs. 
Hayes  being  foremost  in  all  good  works  in  the  community 
where  they  resided,  while  Mr.  Hayes  was  gradually  winning 
his  way  to  positions  of  honor  and  responsibility. 

When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  Mr.  Hayes  was  appointed 
Major  of  the  23d  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteers,  then  in  com- 
mand of  Colonel,  afterwards  General,  Rosecrans.  In  July, 
1861,  the  regiment  was  ordered  into  West  Virginia.  On 
the  14th  of  September,  1862,  in  the  battle  of  South  Mount- 
ain, Major  Hayes  distinguished  himself  by  leading  a  charge, 
in  which,  though  severely  wounded,  he  held  his  position  at 
the  head  of  his  men  until  he  was  carried  from  the  field.  In 
October  he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  regiment.  He 
aided  materially  in  checking  Morgan's  raid.  He  also  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  the  battles  at  Winchester,  performing 
feats  of  extraordinary  bravery. 

At  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  in  October,  1864,  the  con- 
duct of  Colonel  Hayes  attracted  so  much  attention  that  his 


676  IN   FIELD,    CAMP,    AND   HOSPITAL. 

commander,  General  Crook,  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying, 
"  Colonel,  from  this  day  you  will  be  a  Brigadier-General." 
His  commission  arrived  soon  afterward,  and  on  the  13th  of 
March,  1865,  he  received  the  rank  of  Brevet- Major  "  for 
gallant  and  distinguished  services  during  the  campaign  of 
1864  in  "West  Virginia,  and  particularly  at  the  battles  of 
Fisher's  Hill,  and  Cedar  Creek,  Va."  During  his  service  he 
was  wounded  four  times. 

When  General  Hayes  was  in  the  field  in  1864  he  was 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  Congress.  A  friend  wrote  to 
him,  suggesting  that  he  should  ask  a  furlough  for  the  pur- 
pose of  canvassing  the  District.  His  reply  was :  "  An 
officer  fit  for  duty,  who  at  this  crisis  would  abandon  his 
post  to  electioneer  for  a  seat  in  Congress,  ought  to  be 
scalped ! " 

Mrs.  Hayes  spent  two  winters  in  camp  in  Virginia  with 
her  husband.  She  also  served  in  the  hospital  for  soldiers  in 
Frederick  City,  Maryland.  The  regard  of  General  Hayes' 
regiment  for  her  amounted  almost  to  adoration.  It  contin- 
ued as  long  as  she  lived,  and  while  there  is  a  survivor  of  the 
23d  Ohio  her  memory  will  be  cherished  and  venerated.  It 
was  in  recognition  of  her  services  to  sick  and  wounded  sol- 
diers that  she  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Soci- 
ety of  the  Army  of  West  Virginia. 

The  20th  of  December,  1877,  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Hayes  celebrated  in  the  White  House  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  their  marriage,  and  notwithstanding  their  an- 
nouncement that  no  presents  would  be  accepted,  the  surviv- 
ing officers  of  the  23d  Ohio  Volunteers  sent  Mrs.  Hayes  a 
large  silver  plate,  beautifully  mounted  on  velvet,  with  the 
following  inscription  exquisitely  engraved  thereon  : 

"  To  Thee,  '  Mother  of  ours/  from  the  23d  O.  V.  I. 

"  To  Thee,  our  Mother,  on  thy  silver  troth,  we  bri  ig  this  token  of  our 
love.  Thy  boys  give  greeting  unto  thee  with  burning  hearts.  Take  the 
hoarded  treasures  of  thy  speech,  kind  words,  gentle  when  a  gentle  word 


CHARMING   PERSONALITY   OF   MRS.    HAYES.  677 

was  worth  the  surgery  of  an  hundred  schools  to  heal  sick  thought  and 
make  our  bruises  whole.  Take  it,  our  mother  ;  'tis  but  some  small  part  of 
thy  rare  beauty  we  give  back  to  thee,  and  while  love  speaks  in  silver,  from 
our  hearts  we'll  bribe  Old  Father  Time  to  spare  his  gift." 

Above  the  inscription  was  a  sketch  of  the  log  hut  erected 
as  Colonel  Hayes'  headquarters  in  the  valley  of  the  Kana- 
wha  during  the  winter  of  1863  and  1864,  and  above  it  the 
tattered  and  torn  battle-flags  of  the  regiment. 

She  had  so  endeared  herself  to  every  member  by  her 
ministrations  to  them  in  the  hospital  and  in  the  camp  that 
it  is  not  surprising  that  in  every  campaign  in  which  General 
Hayes  was  a  candidate,  these  veterans  were  fully  enlisted  to 
secure  his  success.  He  was  elected  to  Congress  before  peace 
was  declared;  became  Governor  of  Ohio  in  1869,  and  was 
elected  President  of  the  United  States  in  1876. 

In  every  position  Mrs.  Hayes  brought  the  same  quick 
intelligence,  charming  manners,  and  tactful  happy  spirit; 
never  manifesting  the  least  weariness,  irritability,  or  nerv- 
ousness. Always  the  same  cheerful,  winsome  woman,  she 
seemed  the  embodiment  of  health  and  happiness. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  very  fond  of  young  people,  and  often 
entertained  youthful  guests,  to  whom  she  gave  every  atten- 
tion. One  of  the  most  elaborate  entertainments  ever  given 
in  the  White  House  was  a  luncheon  given  by  her  to  fifty 
young  ladies  in  honor  of  a  bevy  of  girls  who  were  her 
guests.  Her  vivacious  spirits  on  such  occasions  were  capti- 
vating, making  the  young  people  forget  that  she  was  a 
matron,  and  bringing  out  all  the  brightness  that  was  in 
them. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  a  beautiful  woman,  of  medium  height 
and  full  figure,  with  luxuriant  and  lustrous  black  hair, 
which  she  always  wore  combed  smoothly  down  below  the 
ears  and  braided  or  rolled  in  a  coil  at  the  back  and  fastened 
up  with  a  shell  comb.  Her  brow  was  low  and  unfurrowed 
by  care.  When  she  smiled  she  displayed  fine  teeth  of 


678  TAKING  A  STAND   FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

pearly  whiteness.  Her  large  black  eyes  were  full  of  expres- 
sion and  sparkled  brightly  when  she  was  animated.  The 
perfect  simplicity  of  her  manner,  the  elegance  and  severity 
of  style  in  her  dress,  bespoke  her  the  lady  at  all  times.  As 
mistress  of  the  Ohio  Executive  Mansion  and  of  the  Execu- 
sive  Mansion  of  the  Capital  of  the  Nation,  she  was  always 
the  same  self-poised,  attractive  woman,  unruffled  by  any  sit 
uation,  ever  kind  and  amiable. 

She  loved  elderly  people  and  children,  two  classes  some- 
times overlooked  by  women  in  high  places.  No  one  who 
ever  approached  her  received  a  rebuff.  She  listened  pa- 
tiently to  all  tales  of  woe,  and  gave  her  petitioner  her  sym- 
pathy and  gracious  smile  if  she  could  do  no  more.  She 
acted  always  from  a  conscientious  conviction  of  right  and 
justice ;  never  discussed  her  plans,  or  gave  unsought  her 
advice  or  opinions,  and  was  devoutly  religious,  but  never 
narrow-minded  or  intolerant. 

She  was  much  criticised  by  a  certain  class  of  fault-finders 
because  of  her  temperance  proclivities,  and  was  accredited 
with  banishing  wine  from  the  President's  table.  Neither 
she  nor  the  President  ever  made  any  explanation  to  any  one 
as  to  who  suggested  the  change  from  the  custom  followed 
by  other  Presidents  of  placing  wines  before  their  guests. 
It  was  simply  in  accordance  with  their  principles,  and  no 
one  had  any  right  to  criticise.  There  were  many  attempts 
to  ridicule  this  departure  from  a  time-honored  custom,  Mr. 
Schurz,  a  member  of  Mr.  Hayes'  Cabinet,  facetiously  assert- 
ing that  the  sherbet  preceding  the  game  course  at  a  dinner 
in  the  White  House  "  was  the  life-saving  station  of  these 
functions."  Others  attributed  the  decision  to  the  parsimony 
of  the  President. 

The  true  reason  was  that  Mrs.  Hayes  could  not  consist- 
ently, with  her  deep  convictions  on  the  subject  of  temper- 
ance, consent  to  placing  wine  before  her  guests  in  the  Exec- 
utive Mansion,  any  more  than  she  could  at  her  own  private 


A  BOTANIST   AND   FLOWER-LOVER.  679 

table.  The  President  sharing  her  opinions,  they  did  what 
they  believed  to  be  right,  and  suffered  nothing  from  the  ad- 
verse criticisms;  on  the  contrary,  all  good  people  blessed 
them  for  exerting  their  influence  in  favor  of  temperance. 

Mrs.  Hayes,  through  her  passionate  love  of  flowers  and 
her  knowledge  of  botany,  accomplished  more  in  enlarging 
the  conservatories,  securing  competent  gardeners,  and  ob- 
taining rare  additions  to  the  floral  and  foliage  collections, 
than  any  other  lady  who  ever  reigned  in  the  White  House. 
Through  her  intelligent  oversight  the  beauty  and  value  of 
the  conservatories  were  greatly  increased.  It  was  at  her 
suggestion  that  the  billiard-room,  which  was  formerly  be- 
tween the  conservatory  and  the  state  dining-room,  was 
made  an  extension  of  the  conservatory,  and  by  this  means 
guests  of  to-day  enjoy  a  beautiful  vista  of  arching  palms 
and  blooming  flowers  while  sitting  at  a  state  dinner  or 
luncheon. 

Mrs.  Hayes  also  inaugurated  the  abundant  use  of  flowers 
and  growing  plants  in  the  decorations  of  the  White  House 
for  all  social  occasions.  This  innovation  having  been 
adopted  by  her  successors,  the  demand  upon  the  conserva- 
tories of  the  White  House,  Botanical  Gardens,  and  Agricul- 
tural Department,  is  now  so  great  that  but  for  the  skillful 
management  of  the  chiefs  of  these  departments  they  could 
not  possibly  furnish  a  sufficient  supply. 

The  dinners  and  receptions  given  by  President  and  Mrs. 
Hayes  were  magnificent,  characterized  by  good  taste  and 
regal  hospitality.  There  have  never  been  more  delightful 
receptions  in  the  Executive  Mansion  than  the  informal  ones 
that  were  held  every  Saturday  afternoon.  Mrs.  Hayes 
always  invited  some  lady  of  the  many  official  families  to  ay- 
sist  her  in  receiving  the  guests.  There  was  never  a  crowd ; 
every  one  donned  their  best  calling  costumes ;  the  house 
was  always  filled  with  flowers  and  plants;  and  there  was 
much  more  real  enjoyment  than  at  an  evening  "crush," 


680  CORDIALITY   TO   GUESTS. 

with  the  discomfort  of  crowded  rooms,  and  the  heat  of  hun- 
dreds of  burning  gas-jets.  Mrs.  Hayes  seemed  as  happy  as 
any  of  her  guests.  Never  disguising  her  gratification  at  her 
position,  and  never  guilty  of  vanity  or  affectation,  she  suc- 
ceeded in  making  every  one  feel  welcome. 

She  once  said  to  me :  "  Why  should  not  the  people  come 
to  see  the  White  House  ?  It  is  theirs,  and  they  have  a  right 
to  be  cordially  received  by  those  whom  they  have  elected  to 
reside  in  it  for  four  years." 

Very  soon  after  their  occupancy  of  the  White  House, 
they  gave  a  superb  state  dinner  to  the  visiting  Grand  Dukes 
Alexis  and  Constantine  of  Russia,  which  had  not  been  sur- 
passed by  any  similar  function  in  that  stately  dining-room. 
Mrs.  Hayes  superintended  the  table  and  house  decorations 
on  this  occasion,  knowing  that  anything  falling  below  the 
standard  of  previous  entertainments  of  this  kind  would  be 
severely  criticised.  The  question  of  the  use  of  wine  was  left 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Evarts,  as  it  was  purely  an 
official  affair.  The  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  gracefully 
conformed  to  Mr.  Evarts'  decision,  and  the  master  of  cere- 
monies provided  the  best  wine  that  could  be  procured  for 
this  international  occasion. 

Miss  Cook,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  was  quietly  mar- 
ried to  the  gallant  General  Hastings  in  the  White  House. 
The  wedding  could  not  have  been  more  simple  in  the  bride's 
own  home  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  Immediately  after  the  cere- 
mony General  and  Mrs.  Hastings  left  Washington  for  their 
new  home  in  Bermuda. 

When  the  time  came  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  to  leave 
the  White  House,  the  genuine  love  and  admiration  which 
every  one  entertained  for  her  found  expression  in  elaborate 
entertainments,  and  lavish  gifts  of  flowers  and  more  durable 
remembrances.  Tearful  eyes  followed  her  on  her  departure, 
and  no  one  has  ever  spoken  of  this  charming  mistress  of  the 
White  House  except  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise. 


RETIREMENT   TO   PRIVATE   LIFE.  683 

They  returned  to  their  modest  home  in  Fremont,  Ohio, 
and  took  up  life's  duties  with  the  same  enthusiasm  as  if  they 
had  not  laid  down  those  of  national  importance.  If  either 
missed  the  adulation  of  the  people  and  the  faAvning  of  so- 
ciety's devotees,  they  made  no  sign.  When  the  National 
Encampment  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  was 
held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  the  ex-President  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
came  to  Columbus  and  remained  during  the  encampment. 
At  a  reception  given  in  the  State  Capitol  I  witnessed  the 
devotion  of  the  Grand  Army  men  to  Mrs.  Hayes,  and  her 
gracious  manner  toward  them  recalled  vividly  her  queenly 
bearing  when  receiving  guests  in  the  Executive  Mansion  in 
Washington. 

Though  a  woman  of  remarkable  health  and  youthful 
vigor  she  died  suddenly  at  her  home  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  June 
25,  1889. 

After  the  presidential  campaign  of  1876,  a  great  outcry 
was  made  that  Hayes  had  not  been  honestly  elected,  and  he 
was  roundly  abused  for  two  years.  But,  though  bitterly 
assailed  by  political  enemies,  he  preserved  a  firm,  dignified 
demeanor,  and  conducted  his  administration  to  a  creditable 
close.  His  enemies  ridiculed  him  as  unfit  for  the  position  ; 
but  the  facts  show  nothing  of  the  kind.  His  lofty  purpose 
was  never  questioned.  He  was  not  a  great  or  a  brilliant 
man  —  few  of  our  Presidents  have  been — but  he  was  honest, 
modest,  and  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties. of 
his  high  office,  and  was  fully  entitled  to  the  esteem  which  he 
won  and  retained. 

President  McKinley  once  said  of  him,  "  No  ex-President 
ever  passed  the  period  of  his  retirement  from  the  executive 
chair  to  the  grave  with  more  dignity,  self-respect,  or  public 
usefulness." 

He  died  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  of  paralysis  of  the  heart, 
January  17,  1893. 


CHAPTEE  XLIX. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,   THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE   HOUSE,    CONTINUED  —  GARFIELD'S 

AND  ARTHUR'S   ADMINISTRATIONS. 

President  James  A.  Garfield  and  His  Wife  —  From  a  Log  Cabin  to  the 
White  House  —  His  First  Ambition  —  First  Meeting  with  Miss  Ru- 
dolph —  Pupils  in  the  Same  School  —  Their  Engagement  ^-Garfield's 
Enviable  War  Record  —  Advancing  Step  by  Step  to  Fame  —  His  Mar. 
riage  and  Election  to  the  Presidency  —  His  Tribute  to  His  Devoted 
Wife  —  His  Assassination  —  Brave  Fight  for  Life  —  Weary  Weeks  of 
Torture  —  His  Death    and    Burial  —  James    G.  Elaine's    Remarkable 
Eulogy  —  Mrs.  Garneld's  Devotion  and  Christian  Fortitude  —  A  Brave 
and  Silent  Watcher  —  Intense  Grief — Leaving  the  White  House  For 
ever  —  President  Chester  A.  Arthur  —  Charming  Personality  of  His 
Wife  —  His  Sister  as  Mistress  of  the  White  House  —  Elegant  Enter 
tainments  and  Receptions  —  Lavish  Hospitality  —  A  Memorable  Occa 
sion. 

'KS,  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD'S  reign  in  the 
White  House  was  so  brief,  and  so  overshadowed 
by  the  aAvful  tragedy  which  caused  the  pro- 
tracted suffering  and  untimely  death  of  her 
husband,  that  one  can  form  little  idea  of  what  it 
might  have  been  under  happier  auspices.  It  can  well 
be  said  of  both  President  and  Mrs.  Garfield  that  they  were 
true  representatives  of  the  people.  Their  innate  abilities  and 
tastes  had  led  them  into  channels  of  education  and  culture, 
and  both  had  literally  worked  their  way  from  humble  life 
to  an  enviable  position  among  educated  and  refined  people 
before  their  marriage. 

He  was  born   in  Orange   township,  Cuyahoga  county, 
Ohio,  November  19,  1831.     His  father,  a  native  of  Worces- 

(684) 


THE  BOYHOOD   OF  GARFIELD.  685 

ter,  New  York,  had  removed  to  northeastern  Ohio  and 
made  what  he  considered  a  home  in  the  primeval  forest,  cut- 
ting down  the  trees  and  building  a  log  cabin  for  his  family. 
In  that  uninviting  place  four  children  were  born,  James  be- 
ing the  youngest,  and  participated  with  their  parents  in  the 
desperate  struggle  for  existence,  inevitable  in  such  a  region. 
Everything  was  of  the  rudest.  The  cabin  was  without  win- 
dows or  doors  —  holes  serving  for  the  purpose  —  and  two  or 
three  acres  of  cleared  land  furnishing  the  grain,  and  the 
woods  the  game  on  which  they  subsisted.  In  such  an  abode 
the  future  President  cut  wood,  dug  up  stumps,  watched 
cattle,  and  tilled  land  until  his  twelfth  year.  The  father 
died  before  James  was  two  years  old,  and  he  might  have 
starved  except  for  his  elder  brother  and  his  mother  —  a  de- 
scendant of  the  famous  Ballou  family — who  labored  night 
and  day  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  A  relative  who 
lived  in  the  neighborhood  pitied  their  poverty  and  aided 
them  to  the  extent  of  his  limited  ability. 

James  does  not  seem  to  have  been  different  from  other 
boys.  He  showed  no  precocious  talents,  or,  in  fact,  talents 
of  any  sort  until  he  had  reached  his  teens.  His  first  ambi- 
tion was  to  be  the  captain  of  a  canal  boat ;  but  he  never  got 
any  further  than  to  drive  a  mule  on  the  tow-path  on  the  Ohio 
canal.  He  was  fond  of  reading,  and,  as  he  went  to  Cleve- 
land frequently  to  sell  wood  or  buy  provisions,  he  had  op- 
portunities to  get  books.  His  mother  first  inspired  him  with 
a  desire  for  education ;  then  the  district  schoolmaster  gave 
him  a  helping  hand,  but  it  was  not  until  he  was  sixteen  that 
he  decided  that  he  would  be  an  educated  man,  and  win  an 
honorable  position.  Supporting  himself  by  manual  labor, 
and  practicing  the  sternest  kind  of  self-denial,  he  was  en- 
abled to*  attend  an  academy  in  the  adjoining  township  of 
Chester.  While  there  the  struggling,  ambitious  lad  met  the 
young  woman  who  was  destined  to  become  his  wife.  She  was 
Lucre tia  Rudolph  daughter  of  a  well-to-do  farmer. 


686  AN  ASPIRING  AND   CONGENIAL  PAIR. 

Lucretia  Rudolph  and  young  Garfield  were  pupils  at  the 
same  school.  She  was  "  a  quiet,  thoughtful  girl  of  singu- 
larly sweet  and  refined  nature,  fond  of  study  and  reading, 
and  possessing  a  warm  heart,  and  a  mind  capable  of  steady 
growth."  From  the  seminary  Garfield  went  to  Hiram  Col- 
lege, where,  in  his  second  term  he  acted  as  a  tutor,  Lucretia 
Rudolph  being  one  of  his  pupils.  After  she  had  finished 
her  course  at  Hiram  she  went  to  Cleveland  to  teach  in  one 
of  the  public  schools.  They  were  engaged  before  parting, 
plighting  their  troth  until  they  should  be  able  to  unite  their 
destinies  "  for  better,  for  worse." 

Garfield  entered  Williams  College,  at  Williamstown, 
Mass.,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1856,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  having  won  the  highest  honor  within  the  gift  of  the 
institution.  He  was  at  once  elected  teacher  of  Latin  and 
Greek  in  the  college  at  Hiram,  at  the  end  of  a  year  becom- 
ing its  President.  His  influence  there  was  most  inspiring ; 
students  flocked  to  it  from  near  and  far,  and  Hiram  became 
one  of  the  best  educational  institutions  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  It  was  during  his  presidency  that  he  and  Miss 
Rudolph  were  married,  November  11,  1858. 

From  that  day  Mrs.  Garfield  performed  her  duties  as  the 
wife  of  an  ambitious  man  with  no  little  tact  and  valuable 
assistance  to  him  in  the  acquisition  of  whatever  he  desired. 
She  was  an  efficient  helpmate  in  all  things,  following  him  in 
his  studies,  and  sharing  his  labors.  She  also  encouraged  and 
assisted  his  pupils  in  many  ways,  enabling  them  to  solve 
.many  a  difficult  problem  of  the  curriculum.  At  this  time 
Garfield  began  the  study  of  law ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  in  1859  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  He  was  serv- 
ing in  that  body  when  hostilities  between  the  North  and 
South  began,  and  it  was  he  who  sprang  to  his  feet  when  the 
President's  call  for  75,000  men  was  read,  and  moved,  amid 
tumultuous  applause,  that  20,000  troops  and  3,000,000  of 
money  should  be  voted  as  the  quota  of  the  State. 


ADVANCING  TO  THE  HIGHEST  HONORS.  687 

In  1861  Mr.  Garfield,  in  command  of  the  42d  Kegiment 
Ohio  Volunteers,  left  his  family  for  service  in  the  field.  Mrs. 
Garfield  took  care  of  their  little  daughter,  cherished  his 
aged  mother,  and  carefully  economized,  so  that  she  could  put 
his  savings  into  a  home  that  they  might  call  their  own  ;  and 
though  it  cost  only  $800.00,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  they 
ever  had  gave  them  greater  pleasure. 

Here  General  Garfield  found  his  loved  ones,  including 
his  aged  mother,  when  he  returned  at  the  close  of  the  war 
with  a  splendid  record  for  gallant  conduct  and  the  shoulder- 
straps  of  a  Brevet  Brigadier-General. 

As  he  advanced  step  by  step  through  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives to  the  Presidency,  Mrs.  Garfield  kept  pace  with 
her  husband,  rearing  their  four  children  with  admirable  suc- 
cess, preparing  her  sons  for  college  and  her  only  daughter 
for  higher  school  work.  Their  modest  home  in  Washington 
was  the  center  of  a  literary  circle  that  has  never  been  sur- 
passed in  the  capital.  Their  tastes  were  congenial,  and 
President  Garfield  has  left  on  record  some  beautiful  tributes 
to  his  devoted  wife.  Upon  his  elevation  to  the  Presidency 
she  assumed  the  duties  of  mistress  of  the  White  House  in 
the  same  unpretentious,  sincere,  and  unaffected  manner  that 
had  always  characterized  her  life  at  the  capital. 

President  Garfield  was  inaugurated  March  4,  1881, 
after  one  of  the  most  bitter  presidential  campaigns  that 
ever  occurred  in  this  country.  The  populace  had  literally 
invaded  President  Garfield's  home,  destroying  every  vestige 
of  shrubbery  and  other  movable  objects  around  his  house 
by  the  species  of  vandalism  called  relic-collecting.  So  out- 
rageous had  been  their  depredations  that  little  Irwin 
McDowell  Garfield,  the  youngest  of  the  children,  anxiously 
inquired  of  his  father  if  he  thought  they  would  carry 
away  all  the  palings  of  the  garden  fence  and  the  corn 
from  the  field  near  the  house. 

The  tax  upon  Mrs.  Garfield  during  the  campaign  and  the 


688  THE  ASSASSINATION  OF   GARFIELD. 

intervening  months  between  the  election  and  inauguration 
was  so  great  that  early  in  the  next  June  she  was  taken  ill, 
and  for  many  days  she  hovered  between  life  and  death.  As 
soon  as  she  could  be  moved  she  was  taken  to  Elberon,  New 
Jersey,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sea  air,  and  the  quiet  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  in  the  White  House,  where  hordes  of  office- 
seekers  were  constantly  pressing  their  claims  on  the  President. 
She  improved  rapidly,  and  was  preparing  to  join  President 
Garfield  on  the  way  to  Williams  College,  where  he  was  to 
address  the  graduating  class. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2d  he  started  on  his  journey. 
He  was  passing  through  the  waiting-room  of  the  Baltimore 
&  Potomac  depot  —  now  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  station  — 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  Mr.  Elaine,  when  the  assassin  Guiteau, 
a  disappointed  office-seeker  and  dangerous  crank,  fired  at 
him  with  a  pistol.  The  first  ball  passed  through  his  coat 
sleeve;  the  second  entered  the  back,  fractured  a  rib,  and 
lodged  deep  in  the  body.  The  wounded  President  was  ten- 
derly carried  back  to  the  White  House,  where  for  more  than- 
ten  weeks  he  lingered  between  life  and  death,  bearing  his 
suffering  with  fortitude  and  cheerfulness.  A  day  of  national 
supplication  was  set  apart  and  sacredly  observed,  and,  as  if 
in  answer  to  the  people's  prayers,  his  condition  seemed  to 
improve.  But  when  midsummer  came  the  President  failed 
perceptibly,  and  he  was  removed  to  Elberon,  Sept.  6,  1881. 
He  bore  the  journey  well,  and  for  awhile,  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  invigorating  sea-breezes,  seemed  to  be  gaining. 
But  on  the  15th  of  September  symptoms  of  blood  poisoning 
appeared.  He  lingered  till  the  19th,  when,  after  a  few 
hours  of  unconsciousness,  he  died  peacefully.  A  special  train 
carried  the  body  to  Washington  through  a  country  draped 
with  emblems  of  mourning,  past  crowds  of  reverent  specta- 
tors, to  lie  in  state  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  for  two 
days. 

On  the  24th,  in  a  long  train,  crowded  with  the  most 


AT  THE  HEIGHT  OF  EARTHLY   HAPPINESS.  689 

illustrious  of  his  countrymen,  which  in  its  passage  day  or 
night  was  never  out  of  the  silent  watch  of  mourning  citizens 
who  stood  in  city,  field,  and  forest  to  see  it  pass,  Garfield's 
remains  were  borne  to  Cleveland  and  placed  in  a  beautiful 
cemetery  which  overlooks  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie.  An  im- 
posing monument  marks  his  resting  place. 

The  services  held  at  the  Capitol  were  never  surpassed  in 
solemnity,  except  on  February  22,  1882,  when,  in  the  Hall 
of  ^Representatives,  James  G.  Elaine  delivered  an  eloquent 
•nemorial  address  in  the  presence  of  President  Arthur,  his 
Cabinet,  Senators,  Members  of  Congress,  and  the  heads  of  all 
departments  of  the  Government.  In  this  he  said : 

"  On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  July  2,  the  President  was 
a  contented  and  happy  man  —  not  in  an  ordinary  degree, 
but  joyfully,  almost  boyishly  happy.  On  his  way  to  the 
railroad  station,  to  which  he  drove  slowly,  in  conscious 
enjoyment  of  the  beautiful  morning,  with  an  unwonted 
sense  of  leisure  and  a  keen  anticipation  of  pleasure,  his  talk 
was  all  in  the  grateful  and  gratulatory  vein.  He  felt  that 
after  four  months  of  trial  his  administration  was  strong  in  its 
grasp  of  affairs,  strong  in  popular  favor  and  destined  to 
grow  stronger ;  that  grave  difficulties  confronting  him  at  his 
inauguration  had  been  safely  passed;  that  trouble  lay  behind 
him  and  not  before  him ;  that  he  was  soon  to  meet  the  wife 
whom  he  loved,  now  recovering  from  an  illness  which  had 
but  lately  disquieted  and  at  times  almost  unnerved  him ;  that 
he  was  going  to  his  Alma  Mater  to  renew  the  most  cherished 
associations  of  his  young  manhood,  and  to  exchange  greet- 
ings with  those  whose  deepening  interest  had  followed  every 
step  of  his  upward  progress  from  the  day  he  entered  upon 
his  college  course  until  he  had  attained  the  loftiest  elevation 
in  the  gift  of  his  countrymen. 

"  Surely,  if  happiness  can  ever  come  from  the  honors  ov 
triumphs  of  this  world,  on  that  quiet  July  morning  Jamef 
A.  Garfield  may  well  have  been  a  happy  man.  No  foreboc 


690  HEROISM  IN  WEEfKS  OF  AGONY. 

ing  of  evil  haunted  him ;  no  slightest  premonition  of  danger 
clouded  his  sky.  His  terrible  fate  was  upon  him  in  an 
instant.  One  moment  he  stood  erect,  strong,  confident  in 
the  years  stretching  peacefully  out  before  him.  The  next 
he  lay  wounded,  bleeding,  helpless,  doomed  to.  weary  weeks 
of  torture,  to  silence,  and  the  grave. 

"  Great  in  life,  he  was  surpassingly  great  in  death.  For 
no  cause,  in  the  very  frenzy  of  wantonness  and  wickedness, 
by  the  red  hand  of  murder,  he  was  thrust  from  the  full  tide 
of  this  world's  interest,  from  its  hopes,  its  aspirations,  its  vic- 
tories, into  the  visible  presence  of  death  —  and  he  did  not 
quail.  Not  alone  for  the  one  short  moment  in  which, 
stunned  and  dazed,  he  could  give  up  life,  hardly  aware  of  its 
relinquishment,  but  through  days  of  deadly  langour,  through 
weeks  of  agony,  that  was  not  less  agony  because  silently 
borne,  with  clear  sight  and  calm  courage,  he  looked  into  his 
open  grave. 

"As  the  end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the  sea 
returned.  The  stately  mansion  of  power  had  been  to  him 
the  wearisome  hospital  of  pain ;  and  he  begged  to  be  taken 
from  its  prison  walls,  from  its  oppressive,  stifling  air,  from 
its  homelessness  and  its  hopelessness.  Gently,  silently,  the 
love  of  a  great  people  bore  the  pale  sufferer  to  the  longed-for 
healing  of  the  sea,  to  live  or  to  die,  as  God  should  will,  within 
sight  of  its  heaving  billows,  within  sound  of  its  manifold 
voices.  With  wan,  fevered  face,  tenderly  lifted  to  the  cool- 
ing breeze,  he  looked  out  wistfully  upon  the  ocean's  chang- 
ing wonders,  —  on  its  far  sails,  whitening  in  the  morning 
light ;  on  its  restless  waves,  rolling  shoreward  to  break  and 
die  beneath  the  noonday  sun ;  on  the  red  clouds  of  evening, 
arching  low  to  the  horizon ;  on  the  serene  and  shining  path- 
way of  the  stars.  Let  us  think  that  his  dying  eyes  read  a 
mystic  meaning  which  only  the  rapt  and  parting  soul  may 
know.  Let  us  believe  that  in  the  silence  of  the  receding 
world  he  heard  the  great  waves  breaking  on  a  farther  shore, 


SUCCESSION  OF  VICE-PRESIDENT 'ARTHUR.  691 

and  felt  already  upon  his  wasted  brow  the  breath  of  the 
eternal  morning." 

The  world  remembers  the  story  of  Mrs.  GarfiekTs  hurried 
return  to  the  side  of  her  stricken  husband,  her  untiring  devo- 
tion to  him  through  the  weary  weeks  that  followed,  and  his 
solicitude  for  her  in  his  conscious  moments.  Bravely  and 
silently  she  watched  every  movement  of  the  physicians  in 
their  efforts  to  save  his  life,  and  was  heroically  calm  when 
they  decided  to  take  him  to  Elberon  as  a  last  resort.  Her 
grief  was  intense  when  his  last  hours  came,  but  the  agoniz- 
ing scenes  which  followed  were  borne  with  Christian  forti- 
tude. When  all  was  over  she  returned  to  the  White  House, 
of  which  she  can  have  only  melancholy  memories,  and 
directed  the  removal  of  her  personal  effects  to  her  home  in 
Mentor,  Ohio. 

All  the  world  must  admire  her  womanly  deportment  in 
her  widowhood.  The  motherly  and  loving  care  she  always 
bestowed  on  her  family  marks  her  as  one  of  whom  all 
American  women  should  be  proud. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  the  twenty-first  President  of  the 
United  States,  was  the  fourth  Vice-President  who  became 
President  by  the  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  and  two  of 
the  deaths,  strange  to  say,  were  by  assassination  in  a  land 
that  has  an  instinctive  horror  of  assassins. 

Arthur  was  the  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman  from  the 
JSTorth  of  Ireland,  who  had  settled  in  eastern  Canada,  from 
whence  he  removed  just  across  the  border,  an  event  that 
gave  his  eldest  boy  a  geographical  chance  to  be  President 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  at  the  hamlet  of  Fair- 
field,  Franklin  County,  Yermont,  in  a  log  cabin ;  was  one 
of  five  children,  whom  his  father,  at  this  time  preaching 
for  $350  a  year  to  a  poor  congregation  in  an  old  barn,  could 
hardly  afford  to  have.  But  families  were  not  then  regarded 
financially,  nor  were  they  the  dispensable  luxuries  that  they 
are  now.  The  poor  clergyman  was  obliged  to  eke  out  his 


692          MRS.  ARTHUR'S  CHARMING  PERSONALITY. 

necessary  expenses  by  manual  labor  in  field  or  shop,  and 
even  when  his  circumstances  improved  was  but  an  itinerant 
preacher  continually  perplexed  with  making  both  ends 
meet.  Young  Arthur's  education  was  acquired  in  the  rude 
schoolhouse  of  the  rural  districts  of  the  time.  He  was  only 
eighteen  when  he  was  graduated  at  Union  College,  Schenec- 
tady.  After  teaching  a  while  in  his  native  State,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  twenty-eight  and  settled  in  New 
York  city.  For  seven  years  he  was  collector  of  the  port  of 
New  York,  and  was  removed  by  President  Hayes,  who 
thought  the  office  was  too  much  used  as  a  political  power  in 
the  State.  He  then  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  entered 
actively  into  political  life,  and  was  so  engaged  when  nomi- 
nated to  the  Vice-Presidency. 

When  President  Garfield  died,  Mr.  Arthur  bore  himself 
with  great  delicacy  and  discretion,  and  so  acted  to  the  end 
of  his  administration.  His  views  were  broad,  and  states- 
manlike, his  bearing  dignified,  his  policy  enlightened. 

Judging  from  the  reputation  of  Mrs.  Chester  A.  Arthur, 
society  and  the  country  lost  much  by  her  death  in  1880,  a 
short  time  before  the  nomination  of  her  husband  to  the 
Vice-Presidency.  Her  lovely  face,  charming  personality, 
and  magnificent  voice  would  have  been  a  benediction  to  her 
husband,  and  especially  after  his  ascendancy  to  the  Presi- 
dency. She  was  fascinating  in  her  manners  and  a  general 
favorite  in  society.  A  native  of  the  South,  she  had  all  the 
vivacity  and  enthusiasm  of  the  impulsive  temperaments  and 
affectionate  natures  of  Southern  women.  President  Arthur 
kept  her  picture  on  a  table  near  his  bed,  and,  like  President 
Jackson,  the  portrait  of  his  beloved  wife  was  the  last  thing 
he  saw  before  sleeping  and  the  first  thing  to  greet  his  eyes 
on  awakening.  Every  morning,  by  the  President's  order,  a 
vase  of  fresh  flowers  was  placed  beside  the  picture.  One 
can  imagine  how  he  missed  in  the  trying  hours  of  his  life 
one  so  lovable,  and  who  held  his  heart  captive  evermore. 


A  HAPPY  AND  ATTRACTIVE   HOME.  693 

Mrs.  Arthur  was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  William  L. 
Hern  don,  who  while  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Navy 
explored  the  valley  of  the  Amazon.  He  perished  at  sea 
while  commanding  the  steamer  Central  America,  which 
went  down  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  426  persons  on 
board.  In  recognition  of  his  heroism  at  that  time  Congress 
voted  a  gold  medal  to  his  widow. 

President  Arthur's  fine  taste  was  based  upon  principles 
of  generosity  and  ideas  of  lavish  hospitality.  No  adminis- 
tration has  ever  approached  the  perfection  and  liberality  of 
his  entertainments.  The  fitness  of  things  was  innate  with 
him,  and  he  allowed  nothing  to  be  done  cheaply  or  in  a  nar- 
row, ungenerous  way.  He  made  radical  innovations  in  the 
style  of  entertaining  at  the  White  House,  and  under  his  di- 
rections the  decorations  of  the  sober  old  mansion  were 
greatly  improved.  On  the  reassembling  of  Congress,  De- 
cember, 1885,  they  found  that  a  transformation  scene  had 
taken  place  in  the  White  House.  There  was  no  trace  of  the 
ruin  that  had  been  wrought  by  the  inevitable  tread  of 
thousands  of  persons  deeply  solicitous  for  the  dying  Garfield. 
The  White  House  was  bright  and  cheerful. 

The  President  was  a  man  of  charming  presence.  His 
sister,  Mrs.  John  McElroy  ;  her  two  daughters ;  his  won 
little  daughter  Nellie,  and  his  son  Alan,  composed  the 
White  House  family.  The  ushers  and  attendants  seemed  to 
have  laid  aside  their  melancholy  expressions  and  to  have 
assumed  an  air  of  smiling  and  obliging  cordiality.  The 
cloud  which  had  hung  with  so  depressing  an  effect  during 
President  Garfield's  long  illness  had  lifted,  greatly  to  the 
relief  of  every  one. 

Mrs.  McElroy,  while  one  of  the  most  quiet  and  gentle  of 
women,  entered  upon  her  duties  with  such  a  desire  to 
please,  if  possible,  the  unreasonable  public  that  she  was  not 
long  in  winning  their  love  and  admiration.  Her  whole  life 
had  been  spent  under  serene  skies  and  so  hallowed  by  sur- 


694  MRS.  MCELROY  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

roundings  of  a  nappy  religious  character  that  at  first  she 
half  dreaded  the  ordeal  through  which  one  must  pass  who 
is  at  all  at  the  bidding  of  the  insatiable  public.  She  feared 
the  jealousies  of  the  people,  the  rivalries  in  society  and  poli- 
tics; but  her  own  lovable  nature  made  her  an  adept  in 
diplomacy.  Her  pride  in  her  brother,  her  attractive  person- 
ality and  winning  manners  disarmed  criticism  and  made  her 
one  of  the  most  efficient  and  beloved  of  the  ladies  of  the 
White  House. 

President  Arthur  was  a  polished  man  of  society,  and 
noted  as  a  giver  of  elegant  dinners.  He  must  have  con- 
trasted sometimes  the  sumptuousness  of  these  days  with  the 
Spartan  plainness  of  the  days  of  his  boyhood.  He  was  so 
disposed  to  have  guests  in  the  White  House  that  Mrs. 
McElroy  had  something  to  do  continually,  and  she  per- 
formed  her  arduous  duties  conscientiously  and  with  rare 
grace.  Although  she  was  a  novice  in  the  ways  of  the  world 
and  public  life,  no  one  would  have  guessed  it  who  witnessed 
the  consummate  skill  with  which  she  received  and  presided 
over  the  White  House.  She  was  passionately  fond  of  young 
people,  and  at  every  reception  in  the  afternoon  or  evening 
she  had  a  bevy  of  young  women,  who  might  be  said  to  have 
rivaled  the  magnificent  flowers  in  their  radiant  beauty  and 
attractiveness.  Many  individuals  who  had  almost  passed 
into  the  shades  of  oblivion  because  the  conspicuous  figures 
who  had  given  them  prominence  were  no  more,  were 
brought  from  their  retreats  by  President  Arthur  and  Mrs. 
McElroy  and  made  to  feel  that  they  were  not  forgotten. 
He  remembered  who  people  were  and  what  was  their  due  in 
the  dispensing  of  social  recognition.  Mrs.  John  Tyler,  Mrs. 
Harriet  Lane  Johnston,  Mrs.  Grant,  and  other  members  of 
the  families  of  celebrated  Americans,  were  often  seen  among 
the  guests  at  the  most  distinguished  functions  given  during 
Arthur's  administration. 

Mrs.  McElroy   introduced  an  agreeable  feature  of  an 


THE  CLOSE  OF  ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION.  697 

afternoon  and  evening  reception  by  having  tea  served  up- 
stairs in  the  corridor  to  the  ladies  who  assisted  in  receiving, 
and  many  others  who  were  quietly  told  to  remain  for  this 
social  aftermath.  President  Arthur  sent  many  flowers  to 
the  ladies  of  official  families,  invalids,  and  on  wedding  and 
funeral  occasions,  which  courtesy  it  was  said  that  his 
thoughtful  sister  suggested. 

Mrs.  McElroy's  last  reception,  which  occurred  on  Satur- 
day afternoon  preceding  the  4th  of  March  Avhich  closed  her 
brother's  administration,  was  almost  if  not  quite  equal  to 
the  farewell  reception  of  Mrs.  Hayes.  The  house  was 
superbly  decorated  ;  Mrs.  McElroy  was  beautifully  gowned; 
her  daughters  and  Miss  Arthur  in  soft,  delicate  shades  of 
the  finest  nun's  veiling,  looked  like  ladies  of  noble  birth ; 
twenty-five  or  thirty  young  women  from  the  official  fami- 
lies in  Washington  completed  the  picture  of  the  memorable 
occasion,  saddened  by  the  thought  that  it  was  the  last  social 
event  of  President  Arthur's  uneventful  but  successful 
administration. 

He  retired  to  his  home  in  New  York  in  1885,  upon  the 
inauguration  of  Cleveland.  He  went  out  of  office  with  hon- 
ors that,  when  he  entered  it,  were  not  his,  and  no  one  can 
say  that  he  was  not  an  able  man,  who  fulfilled 'the  duties  of 
his  high  office  with  dignity,  firmness,  and  faithfulness.  He 
died  November  18,  1880. 


CHAPTER  L. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OP 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — A  YOUTHFUL 

BRIDE  AS  MISTRESS  OF  THE  WHITE 

HOUSE. 

A  Bachelor  President  —  Managing  Mammas  with  Marriageable  Daughters 
—Brief  Reign  of  the  President's  Sister  — An  Intellectual  and  Self -Re- 
liant Woman —  The  President's  Engagement  to  Miss  Frances  Folsom 
—  A  Well-Guarded  Family  Secret  —  The  President  Meets  His  Fiancee 
at  New  York — Preparations  for  the  Wedding  —  Miss  Folsom's  Ap- 
pearance—  Preparing  to  Receive  Herat  the  White  House  —  Arrival  of 
the  Eventful  Day  —  The  President's  Unconventional  Invitation  to  His 
Wedding  —  The  Wedding  Procession  and  the  Ceremony  —  A  Beautiful 
Bride  —  Mrs.  Cleveland's  Popular  Reign  —  Winning  Universal  Admi- 
ration—Her Return  to  the  White  House— Why  She  Lost  Interest  in 
Social  Functions  —  Retirement  to  Private  Life  —  A  Growing  Family  — 
A  Quiet  Home  and  Domestic  Bliss. 


TEPHEN  GROYER  CLEVELAND,  or  as  he 
always  officially  signed  his  name,  Grover 
Cleveland,  succeeded  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  be- 
came the  twenty-second  President  of  the  United 
States.  Immediately  after  his  election  every  one  be- 
gan to  wonder  who  would  preside  as  mistress  of  the 
White  House ;  for  it  was  well  known  that  he  wras  a  bachelor 
long  past  the  age  when  men  are  apt  to  marry.  Managing 
mammas  with  marriageable  daughters  began  to  plan  for 
opportunity  to  meet  the  President-elect,  unconscious  of  the 
fact  that  he  had  at  the  time  settled  the  question  in  his  own 
mind  by  inviting  his  talented  sister,  Miss  Rose  Elizabeth 
Cleveland,  to  perform  the  social  duties  of  the  Executive 

(698) 


THE  ABLE  AND   CULTURED   MISS  CLEVELAND.  699 

Mansion  until  he  was  ready  to  install  his  bride,  already 
chosen. 

Miss  Cleveland  was  a  clever,  well-educated,  well-in- 
formed woman,  who  had  already  had  much  experience  in 
life,  having  entered  upon  her  career  as  teacher  and  author, 
and  lecturer  to  college  classes  when  quite  young.  She 
brought  to  the  White  House  all  the  dignity  and  intelligence 
necessary  for  a  successful  fulfillment  of  the  duties  of  the 
important  position  of  first  lady  of  the  land,  and  while  she 
did  not  inspire  the  admiration  which  her  successor  and  sister- 
in-law  did  later,  no  one  ever  criticised  Miss  Cleveland  for 
lack  of  genuine  ability  and  a  natural  disposition  to  please. 
If  her  mannerisms  were  those  of  a  teacher  and  independent 
woman,  she  was  nevertheless  cordial,  easy,  and  agreeable. 
Intellectual  people  found  her  attractive,  and  she  was  well 
versed  on  important  questions  of  the  day.  She  made  others 
comfortable  by  her  perfect  simplicity  and  absolute  freedom 
from  affectation.  Always  ready  to  entertain,  or  do  any- 
thing required  of  her  as  mistress  of  the  White  House,  the 
requisite  official  functions  were  given  with  punctilious  care  ; 
and  every  person  entitled  to  social  courtesies  from  the 
President  or  his  family  duly  received  them. 

For  more  than  twelve  months  she  conscientiously  dis- 
charged every  duty  and  obligation  devolving  upon  her ;  but 
when  the  time  came  to  receive  her  brother's  fiancee,  to 
arrange  for  their  marriage  in  the  White  House,  and  to  relin- 
quish her  position  as  its  mistress,  Miss  Cleveland  displayed 
true  nobility  of  character.  If  she  felt  at  all  sensitive  be- 
cause another  was  about  to  take  her  exalted  place  as  the 
first  lady  of  the  land,  and  supplant  her  in  her  brother's 
affection,  she  never  in  the  slightest  degree  betrayed  it.  The 
White  House  was  exquisitely  decorated,  the  suite  the  bridal 
couple  were  to  occupy  was  newly  fitted  up,  and  everything 
that  loving  thought  could  suggest  for  their  happiness  was 
done.  She  entertained  Mrs.  and  Miss  Folsom  royally, 
39 


700  THE  GIRLHOOD  OF  FRANCES  FOLSOM, 

personally  superintended  everything  necessary  to  make  the 
wedding  all  that  could  be  desired,  and  assisted  in  the  prepa- 
ration for  the  departure  of  the  bride  and  groom  for  the 
place  where  they  were  to  spend  their  honeymoon.  Soon 
after  their  return  Miss  Cleveland  departed  for  her  home  at 
Holland  Patent,  New  York,  so  that  the  bride  might  without 
embarrassment  assume  her  rightful  place  as  mistress  of  the 
White  House. 

Doubtless  Miss  Cleveland  resumed  her  accustomed  work 
with  much  pleasure,  for  it  was  beyond  question  more 
agreeable  to  her  than  the  conventionalities  of  official  social 
life.  She  had  no  taste  for  the  foibles  of  fashionable  society, 
or  ambition  to  be  a  society  leader  in  the  common  accept- 
ance of  the  term.  As  much  as  she  appreciated  the  dignity 
of  her  position,  and  her  brother's  advancement  to  the  high- 
est honor  in  the  people's  gift,  she  was  too  independent  to 
cater  to  the  whims  of  the  frivolous  or  yield  to  all  the  sense- 
less and  insatiable  demands  made  upon  the  lady  of  the  White 
House. 

All  conjectures  as  to  whom  President  Cleveland  was 
paying  his  addresses  were  silenced  in  May,  1886,  when  Mrs. 
and  Miss  Folsom,  of  Buffalo,  landed  in  New  York  from  the 
steamer  Noordland  from  Antwerp,  after  a  short  sojourn 
abroad,  where,  it  had  been  whispered,  Miss  Folsom  had  been 
making  preparations  for  her  marriage  to  the  President. 

In  1875,  her  father,  then  residing  in  Buffalo,  was  thrown 
from  his  carriage  and  killed  almost  instantly.  His  intimate 
friend,  Grover  .Cleveland,  immediately  took  upon  himself 
the  care  of  his  affairs,  becoming  the  legal  guardian  of  his 
only  child.  The  little  girl  —  Frances  —  was  born  July  21, 
1861.  Her  childhood  was  passed"  in  much  the  same  way  as 
that  of  the  average  American  girl.  Her  primary  education 
was  carefully  conducted,  and,  after  her  father's  death,  was 
continued  in  the  high  schools  of  Medina  and  Buffalo.  From 
the  latter  she  was  admitted  to  the  Sophomore  class  at  Wells 


A  CAREFULLY   GUARDED   FAMILY   SECRET.  70] 

College,  Aurora,  N.  Y.,  graduating  in  June,  1885,  with  the 
approbation  and  affection  of  teachers  and  pupils  alike. 

Meantime  Mr.  Cleveland  had  risen  from  Governor  of 
New  York  to  be  President  of  the  United  States.  His  strong 
interest  in  the  young  girl  was  well  known.  During  the  sec- 
ond year  of  her  college  life  flowers  came  regularly  from  the 
conservatories  of  the  gubernatorial  mansion  in  Albany,  and 
on  the  day  of  her  valedictory  a  superb  floral  gift  of  white 
flowers  was  sent  by  the  President  from  the  White  House 
conservatories. 

Soon  after  the  marriage,  Mrs.  Lucy  C.  Lillie  wrote  an 
interesting  account  of  the  ceremony,*  from  which  I  quote : 
"  Miss  Rose  Elizabeth  Cleveland,  the  sister  of  the  President, 
invited  Mrs.  and  Miss  Folsom  to  visit  the  Executive  Mansion 
in  the  winter  of  1886.  Miss  Cleveland  presented  the  charm- 
ing young  lady  who  assisted  her  at  certain  receptions 
as  '  my  little  school  girl,'  but  it  was  a  family  secret,  wisely 
kept  as  such  in  order  to  avoid  publicity,  that  the  President 
and  Miss  Folsom  were  engaged.  So  carefully  was  this 
guarded  from  the  public  that  within  three  weeks  of  the 
marriage  some  of  the  bride-elect's  most  intimate  friends  were 
hot  aware  of  the  engagement. 

"  Early  in  the  spring  of  1886  Miss  Folsom  and  her  mother 
went  abroad  for  a  short  trip.  Although  many  of  the  pass- 
engers on  the  steamer  that  brought  them  home  suspected 
the  true  state  of  affairs,  all  were  too  delicate  to  make  any 
direct  inquiry,  and  the  young  lady  appeared  as  usual,  affable 
and  uniformly  agreeable. 

"  When  the  steamer  arrived  they  were  met  by  Colonel 
Lamont,  then  Secretary  to  the  President,  and  conducted  to 
the  Gilsey  House.  Here  the  President  arrived  soon  after. 
His  visit  to  New  York  was  ostensibly  to  assist  in  the  exercises 
of  Memorial  Day,  but  it  had  become  generally  known  that 
he  was  to  be  married,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  our  history, 

*  Lippincott's  Magazine,  July,  1887 


702  A  PRESIDENT'S  WEDDING. 

arrangements  were  made  for  the  marriage  of  a  President  to 
be  celebrated  in  the  Executive  Mansion  itself. 

"Miss  Rose  Cleveland,  as  hostess  of  the  "White  House, 
made  every  preparation  to  receive  Miss  Folsom  and  her 
mother  on  the  day  of  the  wedding.  In  the  early  morning 
she  met  the  ladies  and  their  party  at  the  Washington  station, 
which  was  thronged  with  people  anxious  to  see  their  Presi- 
dent's bride.  What  they  beheld  was  a  tall,  slenderly -built, 
and  beautiful  girl,  with  a  manner  of  extreme  simplicity  and 
dignity. 

"  The  Blue  Room  was  prepared  for  the  bride's  reception. 
During  the  eventful  day  the  President  continued  as  usual  to 
attend  to  public  affairs,  with  only  occasional  interruptions 
from  those  engaged  in  preparing  for  the  wedding-ceremony, 
or  for  a  brief  time  of  recreation  with  the  family  circle  when 
he  and  Miss  Folsom  together  addressed  certain  boxes  of 
wedding-cake  to  be  sent  with  their  autographs  to  her  parti- 
cular friends.  So  informal  had  they  desired  the  wedding  to 
be  that  the  President  himself  wrote  certain  invitations,  the 
following  of  which  may  be  taken  as  a  specimen : 

'  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  May  29,  1886. 

"  'MY  DEAR  MR. : 

"  *  I  am  to  be  married  on  Wednesday  evening,  at  seven  o'clock,  at  the 
White  House,  to  Miss  Folsom.  It  will  be  a  very  quiet  affair,  and  I  will  be 
extremely  gratified  at  your  attendance  on  the  occasion. 

'  Yours  sincerely, 

•QROVER  CLEVELAND.'" 

"  At  six  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  June  2,  a  detach- 
ment of  police  entered  the  White  House  grounds,  to  clear 
the  portion  of  the  premises  directly  south  of  the  mansion, 
and  soon  afterward  the  members  of  the  Marine  Band  were 
admitted  to  the  vestibule.  By  seven  the  invited  guests 
arrived,  entering  the  Blue  Room  on  the  first  floor,  the 
southern  end  of  which  was  completely  banked  with  flowers. 
The  wedding  procession  started  from  the  west  end  of  the 


A  CHARMING  BRIDE  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE.  703 

corridor  on  the  upper  floor.  The  President  came  down  the 
staircase,  his  bride  leaning  on  his  arm,  the  members  of  the 
family  following.  The  strains  of  the  Wedding  March  ush- 
ered them  into  the  Blue  Koom,  where  at  five  minutes  past 
seven  o'clock  the  ceremony  was  performed.  The  observ- 
ances which  followed  were  such  as  would  characterize  any 
home  Avedding.  A  supper  or  collation  was  served,  and  an 
hour  later  the  bride  and  groom  started  for  their  honeymoon 
at  Deer  Park,  Maryland.  They  had  sought  seclusion,  but 
at  the  same  time  they  did  not  shun  visits  from  intimate 
friends,  and  they  could  not  escape  the  ubiquitous  reporter. 
On  her  return  to  the  White  House  Mrs.  Cleveland  immedi- 
ately inaugurated  the  hospitalities  which  she  afterwards  so 
pleasantly  dispensed,  by  a  ball  at  which  she  wore  her  wed- 
ding-garments of  white  silk  with  the  necklace  of  diamonds 
which  was  her  husband's  gift. 

"  A  competent  housekeeper  regulated  the  affairs  of  the 
menage,  but  the  bride  took  an  active  interest  in  all  that  was 
going  on.  ...  At  this  time  the  first  impression  she  created 
was  of  a  girlish  figure,  tall  and  willowy,  with  a  well-shaped 
and  well-poised  head,  soft  brown  hair,  brilliant  eyes  under 
finely-marked  brows,  and  a  mouth  and  chin  absolutely  fault- 
less. The  character  of  the  face,  if  girlish,  was  intelligent 
and  thoughtful.  Although  the  dimples  came  readily,  the 
smile  was  exceedingly  sweet,  and  seemed  a  fitting  accom- 
paniment to  her  well-modulated  voice.  There  was  not  a 
trace  of  affectation  in  her  manner,  but  a  self-possession  which 
was  remarkable  in  one  so  young,  unless  we  accept  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  instinctive." 

Notwithstanding  the  disparity  of  their  ages,  it  seemed 
certain  that  President  Cleveland  could  not  have  made  a  wiser 
choice.  Mrs.  Cleveland  was  well  equipped  by  nature  and 
acquirements  for  the  exalted  position  she  had  attained  at 
twenty-two.  Her  whole  life  had  been  spent  in  earnest 
study  and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  accomplish- 


704  A  WOMAN   UNIVERSALLY  ADMIRED. 

ments.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  of  her  successors  will  ever  fill 
the  position  with  more  popular  acclaim  than  did  the  youth- 
ful bride  of  Grover  Cleveland. 

From  the  moment  of  her  arrival  at  the  "White  House  she 
was  recognized  as  one  who  was  destined  to  win  golden  opin- 
ions. Imposing  in  appearance,  beautiful  in  face,  gracious  in 
manners,  she  captivated  all  whom  she  met.  For  two  years 
she  continued  to  win  her  way  to  universal  admiration, 
every  one  regretting  her  departure  from  the  White  House 
at  the  close  of  President  Cleveland's  first  term. 

As  the  wife  of  citizen  Cleveland  she  was  equally  ad- 
mired; as  a  mother  she  has  been  an  example  of  noble 
womanhood.  Four  years  after  they  left  the  White  House, 
on  Mr.  Cleveland's  second  election  to  the  Presidency,  they 
returned  to  Washington,  this  time  with  the  addition  of  all 
the  necessary  paraphernalia  of  a  nursery,  the  little  daughter 
Ruth  having  come  in  the  meantime  to  gladden  their  home. 
Mrs.  Cleveland  quietly  slipped  into  her  old  place,  scarcely 
realizing  that  four  years  had  intervened  since  she  had 
reigned  in  the  White  House,  and  that  meanwhile  sad  scenes 
had  been  enacted  in  the  historic  old  mansion. 

President  Cleveland  secured  a  country  residence,  as  he 
was  wont  to  do  during  his  first  term,  and  much  of  their 
time  in  the  early  spring  and  fall  was  spent  in  the  country, 
affording  all  of  them  an  opportunity  for  rest  impossible  at 
the  White  House.  There  was  much  less  disposition  to 
entertain  during  President  Cleveland's  second  term,  and 
Mrs.  Cleveland  had  become  so  much  engrossed  in  her  domes- 
tic cares  and  motherly  duties  that  she  manifested  less  inter- 
est in  social  functions.  Her  second  daughter  was  born 
during  their  occupancy  of  the  White  House,  another  reason 
for  her  increased  interest  in  family  affairs  in  preference  to 
those  of  the  public,  to  whom,  however,  she  was  always  cor- 
dial and  considerate. 

Since  their  retirement  to  private  life  and  their  establish 


HOME  LIFE  IN  QUIET  PRINCETON.  705 

ment  of  a  permanent  home  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  they 
seem  to  be  supremely  happy  and  to  pursue  the  even  tenor 
of  domestic  life  much  as  other  people,  as  if  they  had  no 
regrets  for  the  prominence  and  excitement  in  which  they 
began  their  matrimonial  journey  together.  Mrs.  Cleveland 
is  still  much  beloved  by  those  by  whom  she  is  surrounded. 
The  birth  of  a  third  daughter  and  a  son  has  added  to  their 
domestic  bliss,  and  doubtless  she  finds  more  perfect  happi- 
ness in  her  quiet  home  at  classic  Princeton  than  she  did  in 
the  "White  House,  where  almost  every  hour  of  her  life  was 
subject  to  intrusion. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  —  THE  REIGN  AND 

DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  BENJAMIN 

HARRISON. 

Boyhood  Days  of  Benjamin  Harrison  —  His  Life  on  His  Father's  Farm  — 
The  Influence  of  His  Mother's  Example  —  He  Becomes  "Enamored 
of  an  Interesting  Young  Lady  " —  His  Early  Marriage  —  Working  for 
$2.50  a  Day  —  Setting  up  Housekeeping  in  a  House  of  Three  Rooms 
—  Helping  His  Wife  with  Her  Household  Duties  —  A  Rising  Young 
Lawyer  —  Enlists  in  the  Civil  War  —  His  Enviable  War  Record  —  Be 
comes  Brigadier-General — Elected  President  of  the  United  States  — 
His  Wife  a  True  Helpmate  — A  Devoted  Wife  and  Mother— Reno- 
vating the  White  House  From  Cellar  to  Garret  —  Burning  of  the 
Home  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  —  Tragic  Death  of  His  Wife  and 
Daughter — How  the  Tragedy  Affected  Mrs.  Harrison  —  Her  Illness 
and  Death  — The  President's  Marriage  to  Mrs.  Dimmick  —  His  Illness 
and  Death  —  Affecting  Scenes  at  His  Bedside. 


ENJAMIN  HABRISON  succeeded  Grover  Cleve^ 
land  and  became  twenty-third  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  had  been  tried  and  proved 
in  public  life,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
term  of  six  years  as  United  States  Senator  he  was 
regarded  as  a  strong  presidential  possibility. 
He  was  born  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  August  20, 1833.  His 
father,  John  Scott  Harrison,  was  a  son  of  General  William 
Henry  Harrison,  who  became  President  in  March,  1841,  and 
died  a  month  later.  ISTot  the  least  significant  feature  in 
Benjamin  Harrison's  biography  is  his  descent  from  men 
who  were  conspicuous  for  distinguished  public  service.  No 

(706) 


a   0 

o  a 
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?  m 

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^  33 

ff  O 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON'S   BOYHOOD.  707 

family  is  more  closely  connected  than  his  with  the  best  tra- 
ditions of  our  race,,  and  the  story  of  his  life  reveals  sturdy 
patriotism,  unimpeached  integrity,  and  high  ideals  regard-- 
ing the  duties  oi  public  office. 

His  grandfather,  the  President,  died  a  poor  man.  His 
father  was  a  hard-working  farmer  who  passed  as  well-to-do, 
but  despite  his  industry  and  his  thrift  his  acres  melted  away 
in  his  later  years,  and  the  title  to  his  farm  passed  into  other 
hands  long  before  his  death.  Yet  he  made  his  limited 
means  suffice  to  furnish  his  children  with  more  than  a  com- 
mon school  education. 

Benjamin's  early  years  were  spent  on  his  father's  farm, 
and  how  his  early  days  were  passed  has  been  told  by  the 
late  ex-Congressman  Buttenvorth,  who,  writing  to  a  friend 
on  the  subject,  said : 

"  He  was  born  just  over  across  the  hills  where  you  and  I 
first  saw  the  light.  Ben  Harrison's  experiences  were  just 
like  ours.  He  was  a  farmer's  boy,  lived  in  a  little  farm- 
house, had  to  hustle  out  of  bed  between  4  and  5  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  year  round  to  feed  stock,  get  ready  to  drop 
corn  or  potatoes,  or  rake  hay  by  the  time  the  sun  was  up. 
He  knew  how  to  feed  the  pigs,  how  to  teach  a  calf  to  drink 
milk  out  of  a  bucket ;  could  harness  a  horse  in  the  dark,  and 
do  all  the  things  we,  as  farmers'  boys,  knew  how  to  do. 
He  used  to  go  to  the  mill  on  a  sack  of  wheat  or  corn  and 
balance  it  over  the  horse's  back  by  getting  on  one  end  of  it, 
holding  on  to  the  horse's  mane  while  he  was  going  up  hill, 
and  feeling  anxious  about  the  result.  He  had  the  usual 
number  of  stone  bruises  and  stubbed  toes,  and  the  average 
number  of  nails  in  his  foot  that  fell  to  the  portion  of  tho 
rest  of  us.  He  knew  how  to  get  up,  feed,  milk,  and  then 
study  his  lessons  by  a  little  tallow  dip.  Then  he  walked 
his  two  miles  to  school  and  got  there  in  time  to  play  { bull- 
pen '  for  half  an  hour  before  books." 

He  was  fond  of  spending  his  evenings  in  the  large  family 


708  HELPFUL  AND   INSPIRING   INFLUENCES. 

sitting-room,  which  also  served  as  a  dining-room.  At  one 
side  of  this  apartment  was  a  wide  open  fireplace,  where,  in 
the  winter,  the  blazing  logs  rendered  almost  unnecessary 
the  additional  light  of  the  home-made  tallow  dips.  His 
mother  always  sat  before  this  fire  during  the  evening  with 
iier  knitting  All  of  the  children  treated  her  writh  the 
greatest  respect.  She  was  a  devout  Presbyterian.  Every 
evening  when  the  hour  for  her  retirement  came  she  would 
fold  her  knitting,  and,  going  to  one  side  of  the  room,  would 
kneel  in  silent  prayer.  This  little  ceremony  made  a  great 
impression  upon  her  little  son  Benjamin,  and  the  influence 
of  that  mother's  example  was  exemplified  in  after  years, 
when,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  he  had  morning 
prayers  regularly  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  Nor  was  any 
accusation  of  insincerity  ever  made  against  him.  The  prac- 
tice was  in  keeping  with  his  faithful  church  attendance  and 
with  the  tenor  of  his  whole  life. 

Young  Harrison  learned  enough  at  the  country  school 
to  enter  Farmers'  College,  near  Cincinnati,  going  from  there 
to  Miami  University,  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  when  eighteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  W.  P.  Fish- 
back,  his  law  partner  for  seven  years,  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  young  Harrison  left  Farmers'  College  because 
he  had  become  "  enamored  of  an  interesting  young  lady 
whose  father,  Dr.  Scott,  had  established  a  school  for  young 
ladies  at  Oxford/'  The  young  lady  was  Miss  Caroline  La- 
vinia  Scott.  He  won  her  affections,  and  departed  from  Ox- 
ford full  of  hope  and  ambition.  Loyal  to  her  lover,  the 
young  lady  devoted  herself  assiduously  to  her  studies  and  a 
thorough  preparation  for  the  duties  of  life  as  the  wife  of 
young  Harrison,  to  whom  she  had  plighted  her  troth. 

While  at  Miami  he  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church  dur- 
ing a  religious  revival  in  that  town,  and  he  never  afterward 
wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  church  or  failed  to  perform 
the  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  through  this  step. 


EARLY  MARRIAGE  AND  YOUTHFUL  STRUGGLES.    709 

From  the  University  he  entered  as  a  student  a  law  office 
in  Cincinnati.  He  was  an  impatient  lover,  and  before  he 
had  finished  his  studies  he  made  Caroline  L.  Scott  his  wife, 
on  October  20,  1853. 

His  early  marriage,  with  scarcely  visible  means  of  sup- 
port, was  evidence  of  his  self-confidence;  but  he  soon 
felt  the  necessity  of  at  once  branching  out  for  himself.  Ha 
selected  Indianapolis  as  his  future  home.  He  had  inherited 
from  an  aunt  a  lot  in  Cincinnati,  upon  which  he  was  able  to 
borrow  $800.  This  was  all  the  capital  he  had  when  he  and 
his  bride  went  to  Indianapolis,  in  March,  1854.  He  knew 
there  John  A.  Eea,  who  was  clerk  of  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Court.  He  found  deskroom  in  his  friend's  office,  and 
there  hung  out  his  shingle.  As  he  was  financially  unable  to 
set  up  a  home  of  his  own,  he  found  a  boarding  house  for 
himself  and  wife.  He  succeeded  in  securing  an  appoint- 
ment as  crier  of  the  Federal  Court,  and  for  performing  the 
duties  of  this  comparatively  humble  position  he  received 
$2.50  a  day.  In  later  years  Mr.  Harrison  often  reverted  to 
this  as  the  first  money  he  had  ever  earned  in  his  profession. 

In  1854  the  birth  of  Harrison's  eldest  son,  Russell,  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  housekeeping,  and  he  hired  a 
modest  residence  in  the  eastern  part  of  Indianapolis.  It 
was  a  one-story  wooden  building,  containing  three  rooms,  a 
bedroom,  dining-room,  and  kitchen.  Outside  there  was  a 
shed  where  Mrs.  Harrison  could  do  her  cooking  in  summer. 
They  kept  no  servant.  The  young  husband  helped  his  wife 
all  he  could.  Before  going  to  his  office  in  the  morning  he 
sawed  all  the  wood  she  would  need  for  the  day.  When  he 
came  home  for  his  noonday  dinner  he  would  fill  a  water 
bucket  and  attend  to  other  work  about  the  house.  Mrs. 
Harrison's  domestic  qualities  were  her  strongest  character- 
istic, and  in  after  years,  when  she  was  exalted  to  the  position 
<)f  "  first  lady  of  the  land,"  her  housewifely  traits  never  de- 
serted her.  The  strictest  economy  and  most  scrupulous 


710  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  PATRIOTISM. 

neatness  prevailed  throughout  their  humble  home,  and  her 
exquisite  taste  made  it  attractive.  Money  was  scarce  with 
the  Harrisons  at  this  time.  The  struggling  couple  had  one 
particular  friend,  a  druggist  named  Robert  Browning. 
When  Harrison  happened  to  be  in  a  particularly  tight  place 
he  not  infrequently  borrowed  five  dollars  from  this  druggist 
for  household  expenses.  These  favors  were  not  forgotten 
in  later  years. 

In  his  business  the  rising  young  lawyer  exhibited  tremen- 
dous capacity  for  work,  and  his  practice  rapidly  increased. 
It  was  at  this  time,  when  he  was  just  beginning  to  earn  a 
fair  living,  that  the  nation  was  electrified  by  the  uprising 
of  the  South  and  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War. 

For  a  time  Harrison,  thinking  of  his  wife  and  children 
dependent  upon  his  efforts,  refrained  from  activity.  But  the 
situation  in  the  summer  of  1862  became  critical.  President 
Lincoln  had  issued  a  second  proclamation  calling  for  volun- 
unteers,  and  Gov.  Morton  was  finding  difficulty  in  filling  the 
quota  due  from  Indiana.  One  day,  when  the  gloom  of  the 
public  was  darkest,  Harrison  and  a  friend  called  upon  Gov. 
Morton.  The  business  of  their  call  being  concluded,  the 
Governor  invited  his  visitors  into  his  private  office.  There 
Morton  remarked  that  he  was  much  discouraged.  He 
pointed  to  some  stonecutters  at  work  across  the  street  upon 
material  for  a  building,  and  said :  "  There  is  an  example. 
People  are  following  their  private  business  and  letting  the 
war  take  care  of  itself." 

Harrison's  patriotism  was  bred  in  the  bone.  To  his  sen- 
sitive conscience  the  Governor's  remark  seemed  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  himself.  He  felt  that  he  was  indeed  attending  to 
his  private  business  while  his  country  needed  his  services. 
He  said :  "  Governor,  if  I  can  be  of  any  service,  I  will  go." 
The  fateful  words  were  spoken.  "  Raise  a  regiment  in  this 
congressional  district  and  you  can  command  it,"  the  Gov 
ernor  replied. 


GENERAL   HARRISON'S   WAR  RECORD.  711 

From  this  interview  Harrison  walked  directly  to  his 
office,  hung  the  Stars  and  Stripes  out  of  his  window,  and 
began  recruiting  Company  A,  which  was  the  nucleus  of 
the  Seventieth  Kegiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers. 

To  recount  in  detail  the  military  services  of  Col.  Harri- 
son would  involve  a  recitation  of  no  inconsiderable  part  of 
the  history  of  the  Civil  War.  He  was  in  many  battles. 
Perhaps  the  best  known  of  them  was  that  of  Resaca.  Here 
he  especially  distinguished  himself  in  a  heroic  charge  upon 
the  works  of  the  enemy,  involving  a  hand-to-hand  conflict 
and  the  capture  of  a  redoubt  essential  to  the  Union  position. 
This  fight  earned  Harrison  the  pet  name  of  "  Little  Ben,"  by 
which  he  was  ever  after  known  among  his  soldiers. 

It  was  after  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek,  where  Har- 
rison had  again  shown  conspicuous  bravery,  that  Hooker 
rode  up  to  him  and  said :  "  I'll  make  you  a  brigadier-general 
for  this  fight! "  His  promotion  soon  followed, and  his  com- 
mission as  brevet  brigadier-general  is  signed  by  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  countersigned  by  Edwin  M.  Stanton.  It  states 
that  it  was  given  "for  ability  and  manifest •  energy  and 
gallantry  in  the  command  of  the  brigade." 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Harrison  returned  to  his  Indian- 
apolis home  and  resumed  his  law  practice.  He  was  in  debt, 
but  his  salary  as  reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the 
returns  from  his  business  as  a  member  of  the  new  law  firm 
of 'Porter,  Harrison  &  Fishback,  formed  in  1865,  soon  re- 
lieved his  immediate  embarrassment.  It  may  be  said  that 
from  this  time  forward  his  career  was  one  of  financial  suc- 
cess as  well  as  of  political  advancement.  His  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate  soon  followed,  and  during  his  term  of 
six  years  as  Senator  his  reputation  as  a  sound,  progressive, 
and  enlightened  statesman,  and  a  ready,  finished,  and  pow- 
erful debater  was  firmly  established. 

During  her  husband's  service  in  the  Senate,  Mrs.  Harri- 
son made  herself  universally  popular  by  her  never-failing, 


712        THRIFTY   MANAGEMENT   AT   THE   WHITE  HOUSE. 

unaffected  cordiality  and  obliging  disposition  toward  their 
innumerable  callers,  whether  they  called  socially  or  to  per- 
suade her  to  contribute  to  charitable  objects.  She  took  a 
very  active  part  in  efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  poor  and  unfortunate. 

Meantime  her  husband's  fame  increased,  and  in  June, 
1888,  he  was  nominated  for  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  triumphal  election  followed  a  spirited  political  cam- 
paign. His  administration  during  the  four  years  follow- 
ing was  universally  conceded  by  political  friends  and  foes 
alike  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  honorable  in  the  history 
of  the  country.  There  were  no  foreign  entanglements  dur- 
ing his  term,  no  glories  from  war,  but  the  arts  of  peace  tri- 
umphed as  never  before. 

The  elevation  of  her  husband  to  the  highest  position 
within  the  gift  of  the  nation  made  no  change  in  Mrs.  Harri- 
son. She  was  still  the  same  devoted  daughter,  wife,  and 
mother,  the  same  careful,  conscientious  housewife.  Although 
criticised  by  the  press  for  her  excessive  domestic  proclivities, 
she  was  not  deterred  in  her  self-assumed  task  of  a  thorough 
renovation  of  the  White  House  from  cellar  to  garret. 
She  discarded  the  accumulations  of  years,  and  secured 
cleanliness,  order,  and  system.  Neatness  and  thrift  took 
the  place  of  carelessness  and  destruction.  This  seriously  in- 
terfered with  the  indifference  and  extravagance  of  the  old 
servants  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  High  life  below  stairs 
ended  with  her  advent,  to  the  indignation  of  the  worthies  of 
those  regions,  who  resented  the  idea  that  the  mistress  of  the 
White  House  was  privileged  to  extend  her  jurisdiction  into 
the  domain  of  the  kitchen.  It  is  perhaps  true  that  Mrs. 
Harrison  gave  unnecessary  personal  attention  to  the  details 
of  this  department,  but  she  could  not  help  feeling  responsi- 
ble for  the  domestic  management  of  the  White  House;  nor 
could  she  be  indifferent  to  the  household  affairs  of  the  home 
over  which  she  presided. 


HOME  LIFE   OF  THE   HARRISONS.  713 

Soon  after  General  Harrison's  inauguration  Mrs.  Harri- 
son's sister,  Mrs.  Lord,  who  kept  house  for  their  aged  father, 
who  was  then  an  employee  of  the  Interior  Department,  was 
taken  ill,  and  for  months  Mrs.  Harrison's  daily  visits  and 
devotion  to  her  afflicted  sister  won  the  admiration  of  all. 
Death  finally  ended  Mrs.  Lord's  suffering,  and  Mrs.  Harri- 
son at  once  closed  the  house,  took  her  father  and  Mrs.  Lord's 
widoAved  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  Scott  Lord  Dimmick,  to  live  at 
the  White  House  with  her.  Many  remember  the  tender, 
loving  care  bestowed  upon  her  father,  then  90  years  of  age, 
and  her  niece,  Mrs.  Dimmick,  who  was  afterward  to  become 
the  second  wife  of  the  President. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  Mrs.  Harrison  to  have 
discharged  the  many  social  duties  devolving  on  her  but  for 
the  assistance  of  her  truly  devoted  daughter,  Mary  Harrison 
McKee,  and  the  wife  of  her  beloved  son  Russell,  who  were 
untiring  in  their  efforts  to  relieve  their  mother  from  the  bur- 
dens of  her  multiplied  cares  and  duties.  Both  Mrs.  McKee 
and  Mrs.  Harrison,  Jr.,  had  children,  and  the x world  has  not 
forgotten  how  thoroughly  absorbed  both  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Harrison  were  in  these  children. 

I  remember  an  occasion  when  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Harrison  had  been  dining  with  Yice-President  and  Mrs. 
Morton.  The  dinner  was  followed  by  a  large  reception 
which  kept  them  late,  and  both  were  very  tired.  When 
they  reached  home  they  found  Marthena,  Russell's  little 
daughter,  very  ill  with  a  high  fever.  Mrs.  Harrison  took 
off  her  evening  gown,  donned  a  wrapper,  and  insisted  upon 
everybody  retiring.  Assuming  entire  charge  of  the  little 
patient,  she  followed  the  doctor's  instructions,  and  nursed  the 
child  till  morning,  when  the  fever  developed  into  measles, 
with  the  result  that  Mrs.  Harrison  and  her  little  grand- 
daughter were  quarantined  for  weeks. 

On  the  morning  of  Feb.  3, 1890,  Washington  was  aroused 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement  by  the  burning  of  the 


714  A   TRAGEDY   AND   ITS   SAD   EFFECT. 

home  of  Benjamin  F.  Tracy,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The 
fire  had  evidently  been  burning  between  the  floors  and 
walls  hours  before  it  was  discovered,  and  the  family,  little 
knowing  the  danger  that  surrounded  them,  slept  soundly. 
When  they  finally  awoke  they  found  themselves  cut  off 
from  each  other  and  all  means  of  escape,  and  to  save  their 
lives  some  of  them  jumped  from  the  windows.  After  the 
flames  had  been  sufficiently  extinguished  the  bodies  of  Mrs. 
Tracy,  Miss  Tracy,  and  a  French  maid  were  found  dead 
in  their  beds,  burned  beyond  recognition. 

President  Harrison  was  among  the  first  to  arrive  at  the 
house  after  the  alarm,  and  took  Mr.  Tracy  and  Mrs.  Wilmer- 
ding  to  the  White  House,  giving  directions  that  the  remains 
of  mother  and  daughter  be  brought  there  also.  Mrs.  Harri 
son  received  her  stricken  friends  with  genuine  sympathy,, 
doing  all  in  her  power  to  minister  to  their  physical  and 
mental  suffering.  The  coffined  remains  of  the  ill-fated  ladies 
were  placed  side-  by  side  in  the  center  of  the  East  Room, 
and  here  the  funeral  services  were  held. 

Mrs.  Harrison's  sympathies  had  been  so  severely  taxed 
by  this  shocking  tragedy  that  it  was  some  time  before  she 
rallied,  though  she  persistently  replied  to  anxious  inquirers 
that  she  was  all  right,  only  a  little  fatigued.  She  was  desi- 
rous that  all  social  functions  expected  at  the  White  House 
should  be  given ;  and  ordered  that  she  should  be  advised  of 
the  presence  in  Washington  of  distinguished  visitors  who 
were  entitled  to  courtesies.  In  the  spring  of  1892,  Mrs. 
Harrison  had  an  acute  attack  of  "La  Grippe,"  terminating 
in  alarming  symptoms  of  lung  trouble,  causing  deep  solici- 
tude on  the  part  of  her  family  and  friends.  In  the  early 
summer  they  took  her  to  Loon  Lake,  in  the  Adirondacks. 
But  she  was  not  benefited  by  the  change,  and  was  brought 
home  early  in  October  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption. 
She  never  left  her  room  again  after  her  return.  In  the 
early  morning  of  October  2±,  1892,  this  noble,  self-denying 


DEATH   AND   MOURNING   AT   THE   WHITE   HOUSE.         715 

woman  fell  asleep  to  wake  no  more,  after  eight  months  of 
patient  suffering  borne  with  Christian  resignation  and  forti- 
tude, in  the  same  room  where  President  Garfield,  cruelly 
wounded,  had  lain  so  long.  Her  funeral  was  very  simple. 
The  family,  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Cabinet,  and  a  small 
chosen  number  from  among  her  hosts  of  friends  assembled 
around  the  casket  in  the  East  Room  on  Thursday  morning, 
October  27th,  to  look  for  the  last  time  upon  her  gentle  face. 
The  casket  was  completely  covered  with  orchids  and  roses, 
her  favorite  flowers.  After  the  close  of  the  services  her 
remains  were  taken  by  special  train  to  her  old  home  in 
Indianapolis. 

In  November  following,  Mrs.  Harrison's  father,  the  Rev. 
John  W.  II.  Scott,  died ;  his  funeral  was  held  in  the  White 
House.  He  was  93  years  old  but  had  performed  his  duties 
as  clerk  in  the  Pension  office  until  after  Mr.  Harrison's  elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency. 

To  those  who  loved  Mrs.  Harrison,  there  is  something 
inexpressibly  sad  about  her  life  and  death  in  the  "White 
House.  To  her  tender,  loving  nature,  the  continual  succes- 
sion of  sorrows  was  overwhelming,  and  in  the  light  of  sub- 
sequent events  it  seems  the  world  knew  little  of  all  that  she 
suffered  so  keenly.  In  the  many  high  positions  attained  by 
President  Harrison,  his  devoted  wife  filled  her  place  beside 
him  with  conspicuous  credit.  He  was  never  embarrassed  on 
account  of  anything  she  did,  left  undone,  or  said ;  her 
amiable  disposition  and  the  great  kindness  of  her  heart 
prompted  all  her  acts.  She  made  no  mistakes  requiring 
finesse  to  correct.  She  was  unspoiled  by  her  husband's 
steady  promotion.  Even  when  he  reached  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  she  was  always  the  same  unpretentious,  gracious 
woman,  a  devoted  wife,  and  loving  mother,  who  ever  exerted 
her  benign  influence  for  the  advancement  of  all  good  works. 

In  a  retrospective  glance  at  the  social  side  of  President 
Harrison's  administration  one  cannot  but  feel  that  far  more 
40 


716  A  LOVING  AND  LOVABLE  WOMAN. 

of  sadness  than  gladness  occurred  beneath  the  roof  of  the 
White  House  during  those  four  years.  The  emblems  of 
mourning  were  seen  very  frequently,  and  regular  social 
entertainments  were  all  too  often  turned  into  melancholy 
occasions  by  untoward  happenings. 

It  has  frequently  been  remarked  that  there  were  more 
deaths  in  the  families  of  President  Harrison's  cabinet  and  in 
his  own  than  had  ever  occurred  during  the  term  of  any 
other  President.  Mrs.  Lord,  Mrs.  Harrison's  sister ;  Mrs. 
Harrison ;  her  father,  Dr.  Scott ;  Secretary  Windom ;  Mrs. 
Coppinger,  Secretary  Elaine's  daughter ;  Walker  Elaine ; 
Mrs.  and  Miss  Tracy,  wife  and  daughter  of  Secretary  Tracy, 
having  died  during  the  four  years  intervening  between 
March  4,  1889,  and  March  4,  1893. 

In  the  death  of  Mrs.  Harrison  the  President  lost  a 
devoted  wife  and  a  faithful  companion  who  for  many  years 
had,  in  no  small  degree,  contributed  to  whatever  of  personal 
popularity  the  President  had ;  for  her  lovable  and  gracious 
qualities  offset  the  President's  well  known  reserve,  a  reserve 
often  called  frigidity  by  many  who  found  him  difficult  to 
approach.  If  his  reticence  and  apparent  unapproachable- 
ness  were  not  liked  by  those  who  encountered  them,  if  he  was 
stigmatized  as  an  "  iceberg,"  the  thinking  part  of  the  coun- 
try apparently  thought  none  the  less  of  him  for  it.  His  de- 
meanor might  be  characterized  as  distant  when  he  was 
accosted  by  strangers  or  even  by  acquaintances.  What  was 
signified  by  his  attitude  in  social  intercourse  has  been  well 
indicated  by  Mr.  Fishback.  He  says : 

"  He  has  been  unjustly  censured  for  his  apparent  lack  of 
sociability.  Probably  it  would  have  seemed  better  to  some 
if  General  Harrison  had  sacrificed  a  little  more  to  the 
graces,  but  it  remains  to  be  seen  if  the  country  is  not  to  be 
congratulated  upon  having  a  Chief  Executive  with  the  great 
virtues  emphasized,  even  if  there  should  be  a  lack  of  that 
able-bodied  joviality  which  invites  the  approaches  of  the 


EX-PRESIDENT  HARRISON'S  SECOND  MARRIAGE.         719 

back-slapping  Toms,  Dicks,  and  Harrys  who  make  a  market 
of  their  assumed  familiarity  with  men  high  in  office.  Gen 
eral  Harrison  had  personal  dignity  and  self-respect,  which 
upon  occasion  could  repel  unwelcome  intrusion/' 

Like  every  man  who  has  occupied  the  presidential  office, 
General  Harrison  aspired  to  a  second  term,  and  in -1892  he 
was  again  nominated  as  the  national  standard  bearer  of  the 
Republican  Party.  He  was  defeated  in  the  following  elec- 
tion by  Grover  Cleveland,  who  was  again  elected  President. 

On  April  6,  1896,  ex-President  Harrison  married  Mrs. 
Mary  Scott  Lord  Dirnmick,  a  niece  of  his  first- wife.  She  had 
been  a  widow  for  more  than  a  dozen  years  when  Gen.  Harri 
son  became  President,  her  husband  having  died  three  months 
after  marriage.  As  already  stated,  she  went  with  her 
grandfather  to  the  White  House  after  her  mother's  death, 
and  lived  there  nearly  as  long  as  the  Harrison  family  occu- 
pied it.  She  acted  as  Mrs.  Harrison's  secretary  and  was  a 
frequent  companion  of  the  President  on  his  long  walks, 
exercise  to  which  Mrs.  Harrison  in  the  last  years  of  her  life 
was  not  equal.  Gen.  Harrison  was  married  to  Mrs.  Dim- 
mick  in  St.  Thomas's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  on  Fifth 
Avenue  in  New  York  city  before  a  small  party  of  friends. 
Neither  his  son  Russell,  nor  his  daughter,  Mrs.  McKee,  was 
present.  Gen.  Harrison  took  his  wife  at  once  to  his  Indian- 
apolis home.  A  girl  was  born  to  him  in  the  following  year. 

The  second  mar riageM  while  apparently  one  of  extreme 
happiness  to  Gen.  Harrison,  was  not  agreeable  to  the  chil- 
dren of  his  first  wife,  and  estranged  the  members  of  his 
family. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  presidency,  Gen.  Harri- 
son's income  from  his  law  practice  averaged  at  least  $150, 
000  a  year.  He  solved  in  a  dignified  manner  the  old  prob- 
lem of  "What  shall  we  do  with  our  ex- Presidents  ?"  His 
retirement  from  public  life  did  not  mean  idleness  with  him. 
Upon  the  contrary,  he  became  one  of  the  busiest  men 


720  DEATH   OF   EX-PRESIDENT   HARRISON. 

among  all  his  busy  fellow-citizens.     He  would   undertake 
only  select  law  cases  and  he  could  command  his  own  fees. 

Ex-President  Harrison  died  of  acute  pneumonia  at  In- 
dianapolis, March  13,  1901,  surrounded  by  the  immediate 
members  of  his  family  and  the  physicians  who  had  been 
constantly  in  attendance  on  him.  Mrs.  Harrison  knelt  at 
the  right  side  of  the  bed,  her  husband's  right  hand  grasped 
in  hers,  while  Dr.  Jameson  held  the  left  hand  of  the  dying 
man,  counting  the  feeble  pulse  beats.  In  a  few  moments 
after  the  friends  had  been  summoned  to  the  room  the  end 
came,  Dr.  Jameson  announcing  the  sad  fact.  The  great 
silence  that  fell  on  the  sorrowing  watchers  by  the  bedside 
was  broken  by  the  voice  of  Rev.  Dr.  Haines-,  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  which  Gen.  Harrison  had 
attended  for  many  years,  raised  in  prayer,  supplicating  con- 
solation for  the  bereaved  wife  and  family. 

Neither  Russell  B.  Harrison  nor  Mrs.  McKee  were  pres- 
ent when  their  father  died,  although  both  were  hurrying  on 
their  way  to  his  bedside  as  fast  as  steam  could  carry  them. 
Elizabeth,  President  Harrison's  little  daughter,  had  been 
taken  from  the  sick  room  by  her  nurse  before  the  end  came. 

One  of  the  most  pathetic  incidents  of  his  illness  occurred 
just  before  he  became  unconscious.  The  General's  little 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  brought  into  the  sick  room  for  a 
few  moments  to  see  her  father,  and  offered  him  a  small 
apple  pie  which  she  herself  had  made.  He  smiled,  but  the 
effort  to  speak  was  too  much,  and  he  could  do  nothing 
more  to  express  his  appreciation. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  noblest 
presidents,  and  his  place  of  honor  among  the  makers  of 
American  history  is  assured. 


CHAPTEE  LIL 

THE  PRESIDENTS,  THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OP 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED  — PRESIDENT  AND 

MRS.  McKINLEY'S  REIGN  — HIS  ASSASSINATION. 

The  House  in  Which  William  McKinley,  Jr.,  was  Bora  — His  Work  for 
the  Family  Woodpile  —  How  He  Obtained  an  Education  —  Striding 
"Across  Lots"  to  Teach  School  —  Enlisting  as  a  Private  Soldier  in 
the  Civil  War  —  His  Conspicuous  Gallantry  and  Rapid  Promotion  — 
Begins  the  Study  of  Law  — His  First  Case  in  Court— The  Bow-legged 
Man  Who  Lost  His  Case  for  Damages  —  Marriage  and  Early  Home 
Life  -  Elected  President  of  the  United  States  —  Mrs.  McKinley  at  the 
White  House  —  Hands  That  Were  Never  Idle  —  Assassination  of  the 
President  —  His  Last  Days  on  Earth  —  His  Patience,  Fortitude,  and 
Resignation  —  His  Last  Words  —  His  Death  and  Burial  —  Beloved  By 
All  —  Devotion  of  Mrs.  McKinley  —  A  Grief  Stricken  World  —  Arrest, 
Conviction,  and  Execution  of  the  Murderer. 


,OR  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  our  country  a 
President  was  given  a  second  term  without  suc- 
ceeding himself,  when  ex-President  Grover  Cleve- 
land defeated  Benjamin  Harrison  in  the  presi- 
dential contest  of  1892.  In  the  following  March, 
President  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  for  the  second  time  took 
up  their  residence  in  the  Executive  Mansion.  An  account 
of  their  reign  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter  and 
covers  both  terms.  President  Cleveland  was  succeeded  by 
William  McKinley,  Jr.,  who  was  elected  in  1896,  and 
entered  the  White  House  in  March,  1897,  as  twenty-fourth 
President  of  the  United  States. 

In  the   early  forties  President  McKinley's  father  was 
managing  an  iron  furnace  near  Niles,  Ohio,  a  settlement  of 

(721) 


722  A  BOY'S  ENERGY  AND  AMBITION. 

very  few  inhabitants  then,  and  it  was  there,  in  a  long,  two- 
story  dwelling,  that,  on  January  29,  1843,  William  McKin- 
ley,  Jr.,  was  born.  The  building  served  the  double  purpose 
of  a  country  store,  with  dwellings  above.  It  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  just  over  the  vine-clad  entrance  to  the  second  story 
is  the  part  of  the  house  where  the  future  President  first  saw 
the  light  of  day.  He  was  the  seventh  of  nine  children. 
The  McKinleys  were  regarded  by  their  neighbors  as  possess- 
ing superior  intelligence,  and  were  respected  accordingly. 

The  boys  were  always  provided  with  something  to  do 
for  the  comfort  and  support  of  the  family.  Wood  was  the 
fuel  of  those  days,  and  the  thriftiness  of  a  family  was  often 
judged  by  the  extent  and  appearance  of  its  woodpile.  Both 
William  and  his  brother  Abner  remember  their  work  for 
the  family  woodpile,  each  doing  a  certain  share;  and  it  is 
said  that  while  William  always  did  his  part  as  quickly  and 
as  skillfully  as  he  could,  some  of  the  others  would  get  their 
share  done  for  them  when  the  desire  for  play  was  too  strong 
to  be  resisted. 

-  Hrs  father  soon  realized  that  with  a  large  family  of  intel- 
ligent boys  and  girls  growing  up  about  him,  better  educa- 
tional facilities  were  required,  and  in  1852,  or  when  William 
was  nine  years  old,  the  family  moved  to  Poland,  Ohio,  where 
young  William  attended  an  academic  school.  The  story  is 
told  of  a  strife  between  him  'and  another  pupil,  who 
roomed  across  the  street  from  the  McKinleys,  as  to  which 
should  first  show  a  light  to  begin  the  early  morning  study, 
and  exhibit  the  greatest  endurance  by  being  the  last  to  .ex- 
tinguish it  at  night. 

He  pursued  his  academic  education  at  Poland  until  he 
was  seventeen  years  of  age.  By  this  time  he  had  secured  a 
better  education  than  most  boys  possess  at  his  age,  largely 
by  his  own  study  and  reading,  while  his  association  with  the 
Methodist  minister  of  Poland  had  broadened  and  strength- 
ened his  ideas. 


TWO  FUTURE   PRESIDENTS   IN   ONE  REGIMENT.  723 

Later,  he  entered  Allegheny  College,  at  Meadville,  Pa., 
but  his  devotion  to  his  studies  and  lack  of  exercise  had  ex- 
panded his  mind  at  the  expense  of  his  body,  and  ill  health 
compelled  him  to  return  to  his  home.  He  now  engaged  as 
a  school  teacher  in  a  small  district  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  from  Poland,  and  the  old  inhabitants  of  that  section 
still  recall  the  sight  of  young  McKinley  striding  "across 
lots  "  to  and  from  the  old  schoolhouse,  which  still  stands. 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  that  winter,  while  he  was 
teaching,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  President.  Bu- 
chanan, in  the  few  remaining  months  of  his  official  term, 
betrayed  his  utter  inefficiency.  Congress  was  endeavoring 
to  adjust  the  grave  difficulties  that  threatened  to  end  in  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  without  avail,  and  the  dreaded 
Civil  War  could  no  longer  be  averted. 

Shortly  after  the  President's  call  for  three-years  volun- 
teers the  young  men  of  Poland  gathered  at  the  old  Sparrow 
house  in  that  place,  all  of  them  raw  and  undisciplined 
youths  who  had  never  shouldered  a  musket,  but  were  en- 
thusiastic and  determined  in  the  defense  of  the  Union.  A 
company,  which  was  known  as  the  Poland  Guards,  was 
formed,  a  captain  and  a  first  lieutenant  were  elected,  and 
the  company  marched  down  the  old  street  wildly  cheered 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  place.  The  company 
marched  to  Youngstown  accompanied  by  half  the  men, 
women,  and  children  of  Poland,  including  young  McKinley. 
The.  next  day  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Twenty-third 
regiment,  Ohio  volunteers,  of  which  Kutherford  B.  Hayes, 
afterwards  President  of  the  United  States,  was  major. 

Speaking  one  day  to  a  friend  of  his  in  the  governor's 
office  at  Columbus  concerning  his  enlistment,  Governor 
McKinley  said,  "I  always  look  back  with  pleasure  upon 
those  fourteen  months  in  which  I  served  in  the  ranks. 
They  taught  me  a  great  deal.  I  was  but  a  school-boy  when 
I  went  into  the  army,  and  the  first  year  was  a  formative 


722  A  BOY'S   ENERGY   AND   AMBITION. 

very  few  inhabitants  then,  and  it  was  there,  in  a  long,  two- 
story  dwelling,  that,  on  January  29,  1843,  William  McKin- 
ley,  Jr.,  was  born.  The  building  served  the  double  purpose 
of  a  country  store,  with  dwellings  above.  It  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  just  over  the  vine-clad  entrance  to  the  second  story 
is  the  part  of  the  house  where  the  future  President  first  saw 
the  light  of  day.  He  was  the  seventh  of  nine  children. 
The  McKinleys  were  regarded  by  their  neighbors  as  possess- 
ing superior  intelligence,  and  were  respected  accordingly. 

The  boys  were  always  provided  with  something  to  do 
for  the  comfort  and  support  of  the  family.  Wood  was  the 
fuel  of  those  days,  and  the  thriftiness  of  a  family  was  often 
judged  by  the  extent  and  appearance  of  its  woodpile.  Both 
William  and  his  brother  Abner  remember  their  work  for 
the  family  woodpile,  each  doing  a  certain  share;  and  it  is 
said  that  while  William  always  did  his  part  as  quickly  and 
as  skillfully  as  he  could,  some  of  the  others  would  get  their 
share  done  for  them  when  the  desire  for  play  was  too  strong 
to  be  resisted. 

-  His  father  soon  realized  that  with  a  large  family  of  intel- 
ligent boys  and  girls  growing  up  about  him,  better  educa- 
tional facilities  were  required,  and  in  1852,  or  when  William 
was  nine  years  old,  the  family  moved  to  Poland,  Ohio,  where 
young  William  attended  an  academic  school.  The  story  is 
told  of  a  strife  between  him  'and  another  pupil,  who 
roomed  across  the  street  from  the  McKinleys,  as  to  which 
should  first  show  a  light  to  begin  the  early  morning  study, 
and  exhibit  the  greatest  endurance  by  being  the  last  to  .ex- 
tinguish it  at  night. 

He  pursued  his  academic  education  at  Poland  until  he 
was  seventeen  years  of  age.  By  this  time  he  had  secured  a 
better  education  than  most  boys  possess  at  his  age,  largely 
by  his  own  study  and  reading,  while  his  association  with  the 
Methodist  minister  of  Poland  had  broadened  and  strength- 
ened his  ideas. 


TWO  FUTURE  PRESIDENTS  IN   ONE   REGIMENT.  723 

Later,  he  entered  Allegheny  College,  at  Meadville,  Pa., 
but  his  devotion  to  his  studies  and  lack  of  exercise  had  ex- 
panded his  mind  at  the  expense  of  his  body,  and  ill  health 
compelled  him  to  return  to  his  home.  He  now  engaged  as 
a  school  teacher  in  a  small  district  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  from  Poland,  and  the  old  inhabitants  of  that  section 
still  recall  the  sight  of  young  McKinley  striding  "across 
lots  "  to  and  from  the  old  schoolhouse,  which  still  stands. 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  that  winter,  while  he  was 
teaching,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  President.  Bu- 
chanan, in  the  few  remaining  months  of  his  official  term, 
betrayed  his  utter  inefficiency.  Congress  was  endeavoring 
to  adjust  the  grave  difficulties  that  threatened  to  end  in  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  without  availa  and  the  dreaded 
Civil  War  could  no  longer  be  averted. 

Shortly  after  the  President's  call  for  three-years  volun- 
teers the  young  men  of  Poland  gathered  at  the  old  Sparrow 
house  in  that  place,  all  of  them  raw  and  undisciplined 
youths  who  had  never  shouldered  a  musket,  but  were  en- 
thusiastic and  determined  in  the  defense  of  the  Union.  A 
company,  which  was  known  as  the  Poland  Guards,  was 
formed,  a  captain  and  a  first  lieutenant  were  elected,  and 
the  company  marched  down  the  old  street  wildly  cheered 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  place.  The  company 
marched  to  Youngstown  accompanied  by  half  the  men, 
women,  and  children  of  Poland,  including  young  McKinley. 
The.  next  day  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Twenty-third 
regiment,  Ohio  volunteers,  of  which  Kutherford  B.  Hayes, 
afterwards  President  of  the  United  States,  was  major. 

Speaking  one  day  to  a  friend  of  his  in  the  governor's 
office  at  Columbus  concerning  his  enlistment,  Governor 
McKinley  said,  "I  always  look  back  with  pleasure  upon 
those  fourteen  months  in  which  I  served  in  the  ranks. 
They  taught  me  a  great  deal.  I  was  but  a  school-boy  when 
I  went  into  the  army,  and  the  first  year  was  a  formative 


MCKINLEY'S  FIRST  CASE  IN  COURT.  727 

• 

not  meet  with  the  approval  of  his  father.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain  that  the  attractions  of  army  life  were  over- 
come, and  he  decided  to  enter  the  legal  profession.  His  old 
appetite  for  study  returned,  and  he  began  the  study  of  law 
with  a  man  who  was  esteemed  for  his  high  character,  Judge 
Charles  E.  Glidden,  whose  office  was  in  Youngstovvn.  He 
entered  upon  his  law  course  with  all  the  earnestness  that 
characterized  his  school-boy  days,  and  became  again  an  ex- 
cessive burner  of  the  proverbial  "  midnight  oil ".  Once  or 
twice  a  week  he  would  go  to  Youngstown  to  recite  to  Judge 
Glidden  or  his  partner.  Even  then  he  was  known  to  the 
people  of  Poland  and  its  vicinity  as  a  good  speaker,  and 
was  looked  upon  as  a  young  man  with  a  bright  future 
before  him. 

In  another  year  he  entered  the  Ohio.  Law  School  at 
Albany.  There  he  completed  his  course,  and  gained  admit- 
tance to  the  bar  in  1867,  two  years  after  his  return  from 
the  war.  Bidding  adieu  to  his  old  friends  and  comrades 
in  Poland,  he  went  to  Canton,  Ohio,  and  there  the  briefless 
young  lawyer,  engaging  a  small  office  in  the  rear  of  an  old 
building,  waited  for  clients,  and  studied. 

Occupying  a  well-equipped  office  on  the  front  of  the  same 
building  was  Judge  Belden,  then  one  of  the  most  prominent 
advocates  in  Stark  county.  He  had  been  a  circuit  judge, 
and  was  a  man  of  influence  and  high  social  position.  He 
was  attracted  by  the  personality  of  McKinley  and  thought 
the  young  lawyer  was  a  man  who  deserved  assistance.  The 
latter  was  not  seeking  any,  however.  But  one  day  the  judge 
came  into  McKinley's  office,  complaining  of  feeling  unwell, 
and  wishing  to  go  home,  and  said : 

"Here  are  the  papers  in  a  case  coming  up  to-morrow. 
Now,  I  want  you  to  try  it  —  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend 
to  it." 

McKinley  had  never  tried  a  case  in  court,  excepting  one 
or  two  of  little  or  no  consequence  in  the  justice's  court. 


728        A  SHREWD   LAWYER  AND   ELOQUENT   PLEADER. 

The  papers  in  the  case  were  voluminous ;  moreover,  it  was 
a  very  doubtful  case.  Indeed,  Judge  Belden  had  very  little 
hope  of  it. 

"Why,  I  can't  try  that  case,  Judge,"  said  McKinley; 
"it's  all  new  to  me;  there  is  not  time  to  prepare  it;  and 
you  know  I've  never  tried  an  important  case  yet." 

"Well,  begin  on  this  one,  then,"  replied  the  judge;  and 
McKinley  agreed  to  do  so,  nothing  being  said,  however, 
about  a  fee  for  his  services.  He  went  to  his  office  and 
sat  up  all  night,  going  through  every  detail  of  the  case, 
and  the  next  day  he  went  into  court  and  won  it. 

•  Meeting  him  soon  afterward,  Judge  Belden  said :  "  So 
you  won  the  case,"  and  putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  he 
handed  McKinley  twenty-five  dollars. 

"  Oh,  I  can't  take  that,"  said  McKinley ;  "  it's  too  much 
for  one  day's  work." 

"Don't  worry  about  that,"  said  the  judge, good-naturedly, 
"I  got  a  hundred  dollars  as  a  retainer." 

From  that  moment  Judge  Belden  and  his  friends  knew 
that  McKinley  was  a  man  of  ability,  and  very  soon  the 
judge  made  him  a  partner.  He  moved  out  of  the  little  rear 
office  where  he  had  spent  his  briefless  days,  and  continued 
his  practice  with  Judge  Belden  with  increasing  success  until 
the  latter  died  in  1870. 

McKinley  soon  won  a  reputation  as  a  shrewd  lawyer  and 
a  successful  pleader.  In  one  case,  not  long  after  entering  into 
partnership  with  Judge  Belden,  he  found  himself  pitted 
against  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lawyers  of  the  Ohb  bar. 
The  case  was  a  suit  for  damages  for  malpractice,  the  com- 
plainant charging  that  a  surgeon  had  set  his  broken  leg  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  him  bow-legged.  McKinley  appeared 
for  the  surgeon.  The  opposing  counsel  brought  his  mis- 
shapen client  into  court,  put  him  on  the  stand,  had  his 
broken  leg  bared,  and  it  was  held  up  conspicuously  in 
evidence.  A  bad  looking  leg  in  shape  it  certainly  was, 


GIRLHOOD  OF  IDA  SAXTON  MCKINLEY.  729 

Things  looked  serious  for  the  surgeon  and  for  McKinley's 
case.  But  meanwhile  McKinley  had  his  keen  eyes  fixed  on 
the  other  leg,  and  when  the  witness  was  turned  over  to  him 
for  cross-examination  he  demanded  that  this  too  be  bared. 
The  plaintiff's  counsel  made  a  vigorous  objection,  but  the 
court  overruled  it.  Much  to  the  plaintiff's  attorney's  confu- 
sion, the  merriment  of  the  jurors,  and  the  collapse  of  the 
complainant's  case,  the  other  leg  was  more  bowed  than  the 
one  set  by  the  surgeon. 

"  My  client  seems  to  have  done  better  for  this  man  than 
did  nature  herself,"  said  McKinley,  "and  I  move  that  the 
suit  be  dismissed  with  a  recommendation  to  have  the  plain- 
tiff's right  leg  broken  and  set  by  my  client,  the  surgeon." 

McKinley  was  soon  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for 
Stark  county,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  two  years. 
From  the  time  of  his  first  campaign  for  election  to  this 
office  he  had  been  active  in  politics.  He  was  in  great 
demand  as  a  political  speaker,  and  soon  made  himself  a 
power  among  the  people  of  that  section. 

When  McKinley  was  fighting  for  the  Union  there  was  a 
young  lady  in  Canton,  Miss  Ida  Saxton,  of  excellent  family, 
handsome  features,  and  lively  and  attractive  disposition, 
who  was  pursuing  her  studies,  and'  devoting  some  of  her 
leisure  time  to  scraping  lint  and  making  bandages  to  be  sent 
to  the  front  for  wounded  soldiers,  as  thousands  of  other 
young  ladies  did  in  those  days  of  anxiety  and  dread.  She 
was  born  and  reared  in  Canton.  Her  grandfather,  John  Sax- 
ton,  founded  the  Canton  Repository  in  March,  1815,  a  paper 
that  is  still  published.  His  son,  James  A.  Saxton,  the  father 
of  Ida  Saxton,  became  a  banker  and  a  capitalist,  and  was 
prominent  in  local  affairs.  His  wife  was  one  of  the  loveliest 
of  women,  with  a  beautiful  face  and  sunny  disposition. 
Ida  Saxton  was  born  June  8,  1847.  She  inherited  her 
mother's  bright  and  cheerful  disposition,  which  has  aided 
in  making  her  life,  —  though  having  far  more  than  its 


730  ADVANCING  TO  HIGHEST  HONORS. 

share  of  physical  suffering,  —  one  of  constant  usefulness 
to  others. 

Ida  Saxton  was  graduated  from  a  seminary  in  Media, 
Penn.,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Even  at  this  time  she  was 
seriously  threatened  with  ill  health,  and  her  ambition  often 
carried  her  further  than  her  physical  strength  warranted. 
Though  with  prospects  of  inheriting  a  fortune,  her  father 
believed  in  giving  his  daughter  the  advantages  of  a  practical 
business  training,  and  to  this  end  she  was  taken  into  the 
employ  of  the  bank  with  which  he  was  connected,  and  for 
three  years  held  the  position  of  assistant  to  him. 

After  her  father's  death  she  spent  a  season  of  travel 
abroad,  and  on  her  return  home  William  McKinley,  who  had 
just  been  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Stark  county, 
wooed  and  won  her,  and  they  were  married  January  25, 
1871.  After  boarding  for  a  time,  they  began  housekeeping 
in  Canton  in  a  modest  and  pretty  home,  where,  in  1871, 
their  first  child,  a  daughter,  was  born.  She  lived  to  be  only 
three  years  of  age.  A  second  child,  also  a  daughter,  died  in 
infancy.  Just  before  the  birth  of  the  second  child,  Mrs.  Mc- 
Kinley experienced  the  great  sorrow  of  her  life  in  the  death 
of  her  beloved  mother.  Mrs.  McESnley's  actual  invalidism 
dates  from  this  period,  when,  within  a  few  months,  she  lost 
her  two  children  and  her  mother. 

Major  McKinley  was  elected  to  Congress  at  the  age  of 
thirty-four.  As  a  Congressman  he  led  a  quiet  and  studious 
life,  paying  little  regard  to  social  functions  at  "Washington. 
During  his  first  term  he  gained  the  reputation  of  an  indus- 
trious, well-informed,  and  plodding  Congressman,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  reputation  for  affability  and  courtesy  that 
made  him  extremely  popular. 

He  was  returned  to  Congress  for  another  term.  He  had 
already  become  an  acknowledged  leader  in  the  House  in 
debates  upon  economic  and  financial  questions.  He  was 
defeated  for  a  third  term  in  Congress  in  1890,  but  was 


THE  NATION'S  CONFIDENCE  IN  MCKINLEY.  731 

elected  governor  of  Ohio  in  the  following  year.  His  open- 
ing speech  in  the  gubernatorial  campaign  that  followed 
was  made  at  Niles,  his  birthplace,  from  the  little  porch  over 
the  doorway  to  the  house  in  which  he  was  born  forty-eight 
years  before. 

He  was  nominated  for  president  June  16,  1896,  at  the 
Republican  convention  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  was 
elected  in  the  ensuing  campaign. 

In  our  war  with  Spain  that  occurred  during  his  first 
-term,  and  the  numerous  complications  growing  out  of  it,  the 
nation  had  profound  respect  for  President  McKinley's  judg- 
ment and  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  devotion  to  the 
national  honor.  History  will  certainly  call  that  a  striking 
moment  in  our  national  life  when  Congress  gave  to  him 
$50,000,000  and  a  vote  of  confidence  such  as  no  President 
ever  had  received,  without  a  minute's  hesitation  or  a  dissent- 
ing voice,  or  exacting  a  promise  in  return.  For  the  first  time 
since  the  Civil  War,  Congress  was  united  as  one  man  in  a 
common  cause,  for  the  honor  of  a  common  flag  —  every  man 
voting,  and  all  on  one  side,  ready  and  eager  to  go  on  record. 

Within  less  than  four  months  of  warfare  the  conflict 
onded —  a  conflict  which  drove  Spain  from  the  last  of  her 
once  great  possessions  in  the  eastern  world,  which  estab- 
lished the  United  States  as  a  world  power  of  the  first 
magnitude,  enlarged  its  territory  in  both  hemispheres, 
and  opened  to  the  American  people  new  opportunities 
and  new  and  grave  responsibilities. 

President  McKinley,  whose  patient  diplomacy  deferred 
war  till  it  could  be  deferred  no  longer,  whose  courage  car- 
ried it  through  to  a  successful  issue,  and  whose  gentle  firm- 
ness at  its  close  secured  a  peace  with  a  rich  legacy  for  our 
future,  proved  himself  one  of  the  great  American  statesmen 
of  this  generation,  and  amply  justified  the  trust  which  the 
American  people  had  placed  in  his  hands.  He  was  renom- 
inated  in  1900,  and  re-elected  to  the  Presidency  in  the  cam- 


732  MRS.    McKINLEY'S  BEAUTIFUL  CHARACTER. 

paign  that  followed.  He  entered  upon  his  second  term  as 
President,  March  4,  1901. 

Few  public  men  have  spoken  on  such  a  variety  of  topics 
in  the  course  of  their  careers  as  President  McKinley.  His 
principal  speeches  were  prepared  with  great  care.  He 
delivered  memorable  eulogies  on  Lincoln,  Grant,  Garfield, 
and  Logan,  which  exhibit  his  keen  insight  into  human 
nature  and  his  high  appreciation  of  noble  qualities.  The 
record  of  his  public  life  is  an  open  book.  His  bitterest  po- 
litical opponent  never  sought  to  cast  reflections  upon  his 
integrity.  No  friend  of  his  was  ever  compelled  to  make  an 
apology  for  anything  in  his  conduct  as  a  man  in  private  or 
public  life. 

Yery  much  has  been  said  and  written  of  Mrs.  President 
McKinley,  and  yet  the  half  of  her  gentleness  and  beautiful 
character  has  never  been  told.  Her  most  charming  char- 
acteristics were  her  perfect  sincerity,  utter  forgetfulness 
of  self,  and  great  thoughtfulness  for  others.  As  mistress  of 
the  White  House  scarcely  a  day  passed  that  she  did  not  do 
a  kindness  for  some  one.  Many  a  grievously  afflicted  per- 
son—  sometimes  an  utter  stranger  to  her — received  a  token 
of  her  sympathy  and  good  wishes,  if  nothing  more  than  a 
bunch  of  flowers  or  a  tender  message.  Always  bright  and 
cheerful,  she  never  alluded  to  the  affliction  that  held  her 
captive  for  so  many  years.  Her  refined  face,  sunny  disposi- 
tion, and  sweet  smile  reflected  the  spirit  of  gentleness  and 
resignation  that  bodily  suffering  had  wrought. 

Her  busy  fingers  were  constantly  at  work  for  charity. 
Before  she  left  the  White  House  she  had  finished  more  than 
three  thousand  five  hundred  pairs  of  knitted  slippers  for 
ladies  and  children,  all  of  which  had  been  given  to  friends 
or  for  charity  and  invalids.  Many  of  these  slippers  were 
sold  for  large  sums  at  church  and  charity  fairs.  She  spent 
hours  in  the  distribution  of  flowers  among  her  friends  to 
grace  happy  occasions,  or  to  cheer  the  unhappy  or  unfor- 


'S-SP 


PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY'S  DEVOTION  TO  HIS  WIFE.    735 

tunate.  She  could  never  turn  away  from  an  appeal  for 
help ;  and,  but  for  the  watchfulness  of  those  in  attendance 
at  the  Executive  Mansion,  there  would  have  been  a  constant 
throng  about  her,  awaiting  her  bounty. 

As  a  mother,  Mrs.  McKinley  was  devoted  to  her  little 
ones.  The  memory  of  them  was  ever  present,  and  their  pic- 
tures were  ever  before  her.  She  talked  about  them -with  so 
much  motherly  love  and  tenderness  that  one  could  scarcely 
believe  that  a  score  of  years  had  come  and  gone  since  they 
were  taken  from  her. 

Mrs.  McKinley's  adoration  of  her  husband  was  well 
known.  In  her  estimation  he  was  perfect,  and  she  dis- 
coursed upon  his  good  qualities  with  all  the  fervor  of  a  girl 
in  her  teens  over  her  lover.  She  appreciated  the  unex- 
ampled thoughtful  ness  that  often  prompted  him  to  leave 
cabinet  meetings  or  other  important  councils,  if  they  were 
at  all  protracted,  to  seek  her  for  a  moment  and  see  that  she 
was  provided  with  every  comfort.  No  sacrifice  was  too 
great  for  him  to  make  for  her.  In  all  his  busy  hours  she 
was  never  forgotten.  It  was  said  of  him  when  he  was  a 
Congressman  that  he  could  always  be  found  either  at  the 
Capitol,  in  his  office,  or  with  his  wife. 

President  McKinley  left  Washington  on  the  evening  of 
July  5,  1901,  to  spend  the  remainder  of  the  summer  in  his 
old  home,  at  Canton,  Ohio,  where  rest  and  quiet,  it  was 
hoped,  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  Mrs.  McKinley.  He 
had  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Pan-Ameri- 
can Exposition  in  Buffalo,  "  President's  Day  "  being  fixed  for 
the  fifth  of  September.  That  day  was  to  him  one  long 
ovation,  the  assembled  thousands  greeting  him  with  affec- 
tionate enthusiasm. 

On  the  afternoon  of  September  6th,  the  President,  while 
holding  a  public  reception  in  the  Temple  of  Music,  on  the 
Exposition  grounds,  was  mortally  wounded  by  an  assassin. 
The  presidential  party  had  on  that  afternoon  returned  from 


736  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

a  visit  to  Niagara  Falls,  and  the  President  had  proceeded 
at  once  to  the  Exposition.  The  fatigue  of  the  morning 
journey  prevented  Mrs.  McKinley  from  accompanying  him, 
and  she  returned  to  the  home  of  Mr.  John  G.  Milburn,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  whose  guests  they 
were.  Throngs  of  people  crowded  the  grounds  to  see  the 
President  enter,  and,  if  possible,  to  clasp  nis  hand  at  the 
public  reception. 

Shortly  after  4  P.  M.  one  of  the  throng  that  surged  past 
the  presidential  party  approached  as  if  to  greet  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  noticed  that  the  man's  right  hand  was 
wrapped  in  a  handkerchief,  but  no  one  suspected  that  the 
concealed  hand  held  a  revolver.  Mr.  McKinley  smiled  and 
extended  his  hand  to  the  stranger  in  friendly  greeting,  when 
suddenly  the  sharp  crack  of  a  revolver  rang  out  above  the 
hum  of  voices  and  the  shuffling  of  thousands  of  feet.  There 
was  an  instant  of  almost  complete  silence.  The  President 
stood  still,  a  look  of  perplexity  and  bewilderment  on  his 
face.  His  lips  pressed  each  other  in  a  rigid  line.  His 
shoulders  straightened  as  those  of  a  military  commander. 
He  threw  his  head  back,  and  as  he  brought  his  right 
hand  up  to  his  chest  he  grew  deathly  pale.  The 
wounded  President  reeled  and  staggered  into  the  arms  of 
his  private  Secretary,  George  B.  Cortelyou,  and  was  led  to 
a  chair,  where  he  removed  his  hat  and  bowed  his  head  in 
his  hands.  By  this  time  the  crowd,  at  first  dazed  and  be- 
wildered, realizing  the  awful  import  of  the  scene,  surged 
forward  with  hoarse  shouts  and  cries.  Only  the  Presi- 
dent remained  calm,  and  begged  those  near  him  not  to  be 
alarmed. 

"  But  you  are  wounded,"  cried  the  secretary ;  "  let  me 
examine." 

"  No,  I  think  not,"  answered  the  President.  "  [  am  not 
badly  hurt,  I  assure  you." 

The  President  opened  his  waistcoat  and  thrust  his  hand 


ARREST   OF  THE   ASSASSIN.  737 

into  the  opening  in  his  shirt  bosom,  and  after  moving  his 
fingers  there  a  moment,  replied :  "  This  pains  me  greatly." 
He  slowly  drew  forth  his  hand.  The  fingers  were  covered 
with  blood.  He  gazed  at  his  hand  an  instant,  a  most  pite- 
ous expression  stole  over  his  face,  and  he  stared  blankly 
before  him. 

His  outer  garments  were  now  hastily  loosened  and  the 
worst  fears  were  confirmed.  The  assassin  had  fired  two 
shots  at  close  range.  One  bullet  had  struck  the  President 
on  the  breast  bone,  glancing  and  not  penetrating ;  the  second 
bullet  had  penetrated  the  abdomen  and  passed  -through  the 
stomach.  The  President  was  at  once  placed  on  a  stretcher 
and  removed  to  the  Emergency  Hospital,  on  the  Exposition 
grounds,  the  best  surgeons  available  having  been  hastily 
summoned.  He  was  placed  upon  an  operating  table,  and  a 
thorough  examination  was  made.  The  surgeons  informed 
him  that  an  immediate  operation  was  necessary.  To  this 
the  President,  who  was  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties, 
replied  with  great  calmness,  "  Gentlemen,  do  what  in  your 
judgment  you  think  best."  He  was  immediately  placed 
under  the  influence  of  ether,  an  incision  was  made  in  the 
abdomen,  and  the  wounds  in  the  stomach  were  closed.  The 
bullet  could  not  be  found.  After  the  operation,  which  lasted 
an  hour  and  a  half,  the  President,  still  under  the  influence 
of  the  anesthetic,  was  removed  in  an  ambulance  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  Milburn. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  adequately  the  excit- 
ing scene  that  followed  the  shooting.  'No  sooner  had  the 
shots  been  fired  than  several  men  threw  themselves  for- 
ward as  with  one  impulse  upon  the  assassin.  In  an  instant 
he  was  borne  to  the  ground,  his  weapon  was  wrenched  from 
his  grasp,  and  strong  arms  pinioned  him  down.  He  was 
hurried  into  a  little  room,  from  which  he  was  immediately 
removed  to  the  police  station  house.  His  name  was  Leon  F. 
Czolgosz,  a  young  man  of  Polish  extraction,  whose  home 
41 


738  HOW   THE  PRESIDENT  WAS   ASSASSINATED. 

was  in  Cleveland,  where  his  father,  mother,  and  brothers 
lived.  He  was  an  avowed  Anarchist,  and  boasted  that  in 
shooting  the  President  he  had  only  done  his  duty. 

Czolgosz  was  born  in  Detroit  and  was  twenty-eight  years 
of  age.  He  received  some  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  that  city.  He  read  all  the  Socialistic  literature  that  he 
could  lay  his  hands  on,  and  finally  he  became  fairly  well 
known  in  Chicago,  Cleveland,  and  Detroit,  not  only  as  a 
Socialist,  but  as  an  Anarchist  of  the  most  venomous  type. 

Learning  that  President  McKinley  was  to  visit  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition,  and  was  to  remain  for  several  days, 
he  started  for  Buffalo  on  his  murderous  mission.  He  had 
followed  the  President  for  two  days,  knew  when  he  would 
enter  the  Exposition  grounds,  and  waited  for  his  appearance. 
He  was  among  the  first  of  the  great  throng  to  enter  the 
Temple  of  Music,  and  immediately  took  his  position  in  line 
to  shake  hands  with  the  President.  When  Mr.  McKinley 
cordially  extended  his  hand  in  greeting  the  assassin  extended 
his  left  hand,  aimed  the  revolver  at  the  President's  breast 
with  his  right  hand,  and  fired.  The  murder  was  planned 
with  all  the  diabolical  ingenuity  of  which  anarchy  and  nihil- 
ism are  capable,  and  the  assassin  carried  out  his  plan  as  per- 
fectly as  did  his  prototype,  Judas. 

Mrs.  McKinley,  who  had  been  resting  in  her  room  at 
Mr.  Milburn's,  did  not  know  what  had  happened  until  three 
hours  had  elapsed.  She  had  begun  to  be  anxious,  as  the 
President  was  expected  to  return  at  about  six  o'clock.  Mrs. 
McKinley  did  not  suspect  assassination,  but  she  naturally 
feared  that  some  accident  had  befallen  her  husband.  Minute 
precautions  had  been  taken  to  shield  her  from  all  knowledge 
of  the  tragic  occurrence,  but  now  the  terrible  tidings  could 
be  withheld  no  longer.  She  must  be  told,  for  the  President 
was  even  then  being  borne  to  the  house.  It  was  feared  the 
shock  would  prostrate  her,  but,  greatly  to  the  relief  of  those 
about  her,  she  bore  it  with  surprising  courage,  and  when  the 


THE  DYING  PRESIDENT.  739 

President  was  brought  in  she  was  able  to  be  taken  to  his 
room. 

A  few  weeks  before,  Mr.  McKinley  had  watched  over 
her  through  a  serious  illness,  and  it  was  her  turn  now.  She 
realized  then,  if  never  before,  that  the  deepest  anguish  is  the 
portion  of  the  one  who  sits  in  sorrowful  vigil.  The  Presi- 
dent seemed  troubled  when  she  was  not  permitted  to  come 
into  his  room,  and  the  physicians  soon  saw*  that  it  would  be 
best  for  both  that  she  should  see  him  at  least  once  a  day. 

The  public  was  kept  informed  of  the  President's  condi- 
tion by  daily  bulletins  issued  by  the  attending  physicians, 
and  for  several  days  after  the  traged}r  his  condition  was  so 
favorably  reported  that  confident  predictions  were  made  of 
his  recovery.  Indeed,  five  days  after  the  shooting  the  physi- 
cians declared  that  he  was  practically  out  of  danger  and 
would  probably  recover. 

Following  closely  upon  that  reassuring  announcement 
came  the  startling  statement,  on  the  night  of  September  12, 
that  the  President  was  worse.  He  had  complained  of  weari- 
ness, and  had  frequently  exclaimed,  "  I  am  so  tired."  Mr. 
McKinley's  relatives  were  notified,  and  they  hastened  to 
the  house. 

The  next  morning  at  6  o'clock,  while  the  windows  of  his 
room  were  opened  for  a  short  time,  the  President  turned  his 
head  and  glanced  out.  The  sky  was  overcast  with  clouds, 
and  he  remarked  that  it  was  not  quite  so  bright  as  the  day 
before.  When  the  nurses  were  closing  the  windows  to 
exclude  the  light,  he  gently  protested,  saying,  "  I  want  to 
see  the  trees.  They  are  so  beautiful."  He  was  fully  con- 
scious then,  and  seemed  grateful  for  the  chance  to  see  the 
sky  and  trees. 

The  President  gradually  failed  during  the  day.  That 
evening  he  asked  to  see  Mrs.  McKinley.  She  was  led  into 
the  death  chamber,  and  the  strong  face  of  the  President 
lighted  up  as  she  bent  over  him.  There  Mrs.  McKinley  took 


740  DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

her  last  farewell  of  her  dying  husband,  who  for  years  had 
given  her  his  tenderest  care.  She  took  his  hands  in  both 
her  own,  gazed  fondly,  tearlessly,  at  the  changing  features, 
then  smoothed  back  the  hair  from  his  brow,  half  arose, 
placed  both  arms  around  his  neck,  held  them  so  for  an 
instant,  then  arose  and  turned,  and  was  led  from  the  cham- 
ber as  one  in  a  dream.  On  returning  to  her  room  she  gave 
way  to  bitter  sob^and  heartbreaking  lamentations.  Friends 
did  their  utmost  to  console  her,  but  their  efforts  were  una- 
vailing. Her  grief  -was  absorbing  and  intense. 

The  President's  condition  grew  steadily  worse,  and  it 
was  apparent  that  the  end  was  near  at  hand.  In  his  last 
period  of  consciousness  he  repeated  the  words  of  the  beauti- 
ful hymn,  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  and  his  last  audible, 
conscious  words,  as  taken  down  by  one  of  the  attending 
physicians  at  the  bedside,  were :  "  Good-bye,  all,  good-bye. 
It  is  God's  way.  His  will  be  done."  Hovering  on-  the  bor- 
der line  between  life  and  death,  waiting  only  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  time  allotted  him  by  his  Maker,  his  mind  wan- 
dered to  his  home  and  the  days  when  he  was  a  boy.  With 
each  brief  period  of  returning  consciousness  his  thoughts 
reverted  to  her  for  whose  comfort  he  had  always  striven. 
All  else  was  forgotten,  and  she  alone  filled  his  thoughts. 

Just  as  he  had  lived,  with  words  of  kindness  and  gentle- 
ness for  all  on  his  lips,  without  bitterness  toward  any  human 
being  in  his  heart,  serenely,  painlessly,  President  McKinley 
ended  his  earthly  life  at  2.15  A.M.  on  September  14,  1901. 
He  passed  away  peacefully.  It  was  as  though  he  had  fallen 
asleep.  Only  the  sobs  of  the  mourners  broke  the  silence  of 
the  chamber  of  death.  Mrs.  McKinley  bore  her  burden  of 
grief  with  a  Christian  fortitude  and  calmness  that  surprised 
her  friends. 

The  remains  of  the  martyr  President  were  borne  in  im- 
pressive state  from  Buffalo  to  Washington  and  taken  to  the 
White  House,  from  which  he  and  his  wife  had  gone  forth 


MRS.  McKINLEY's  SAD  RETURN  TO  THE  WHITE  HOUSE.  741 

only  a  few  weeks  previous  full  of  happy  thoughts  and 
anticipations.  There,  in  the  historic  East  Room,  sombre 
with  its  drawn  shades  and  dim  burning  lights,  the  heavy 
black  casket  resting  in  the  center  of  the  room,  under  the 
great  crystal  chandelier,  the  guard  of  honor  watched  over 
the  dead  body  of  the  lamented  President.  Thenceforward 
the  White  House  had  a  new  sacred  ness  in  American  eyes. 

That  night  Mrs.  McKinley  rested  in  her  old  room  in  the 
Executive  Mansion  from  which  she  was  so  soon  to  depart  to 
make  place  for  a  new  mistress  of  the  White  House.  On  the 
next  morning  the  dead  body  of  the  President  was  rever- 
ently taken  to  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  where  the  state 
funeral  was  held,  and  on  Wednesday  the  remains  were 
escorted  to  Canton,  Ohio,  where  interment  took  place 
September  19,  1901.  This  was  the  twentieth  anniversary 
of  the  death  of  President  Garfield. 

Swift  punishment  awaited  the  assassin.  He  was 
promptly  tried,  and  on  September  26th,  just  twenty  days 
after  he  fired  the  fatal  shots,  he  was  condemned  to  death 
and  was  executed  in  the  state  prison  at  Auburn,  1ST.  Y., 
October  29,  1901. 

As  a  wise,  just,  pure-hearted  statesman,  William  Mc- 
Kinley achieved  imperishable  fame.  In  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate the  man  was  never  lost.  Modest,  equable,  benign, 
patient,  and  magnanimous,  he  won  esteem  and  inspired 
love.  Of  all  our  Presidents,  he  was  the  most  popular  for 
his  human  qualities,  and  no  man  could  better  deserve  the 
regard  of  his  countrymen.  Posterity  will  acclaim  him  one 
of  the  greatest  Presidents  of  our  Republic,  and  in  the 
hearts  of  Americans  McKinley  will  be  enshrined  with  the 
lamented  Lincoln. 


CHAPTEK  LIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS,   THEIR  WIVES,  AND  FAMOUS  LADIES  OF 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  CONTINUED —PRESIDENT  AND  MRS 

ROOSEVELT  ENTER  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  Becomes  President  of  the  United  States— The  Story 
of  His  Life  —  His  Rapid  Rise  to  Fame  —  His  Ability  and  Honesty  in 
Public  Office  —  Why  He  Became  the  Most  Thoroughly  Hated  Man  in 
New  York  —  Selected  by  President  McKinley  for  Assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  — What  the  "Old  Timers"  Thought  of  the  Appointment 

—  The  Liveliest  Official  in  Washington  —  His  Life   on  a  Western 
Ranch  —  Getting  Acquainted  with  Cowboys  —  Raising  the  Regiment 
of  "Rough  Riders"  —  "I'm  Kinder  Holler"  —  His  Personal  Bravery 
on  the  Battlefield  —  A  Popular  Hero  —  Elected  Governor  of  New  York 

—  Elected  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  —  Assuming  the  Great 
Office  of  President  of  the  United  States  —  Mrs.  Roosevelt  and  Her 
Six  Children  —  An  Ideal  Wife  and  Mother  —  Superintending  Her  Own 
Household  —  Children  at  the  White  House. 


Y  the  death  of  President  McKinley,  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  then  Yice-President,  became  the 
twenty-fifth  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  title,  the  honors,  and  the  burdens  of 
the  highest  office  of  the  greatest  nation  in  the 
world  came  to  him  unexpectedly  and  prematurely. 
For  years  Theodore  Roosevelt  has  had  the  potentialities 
of  a  President  of  the  United  States  in  him,  and  thousands 
have  turned  instinctively  to  him  as  the  man  who,  early  in 
the  twentieth  century,  would  be  made  the  Chief  Executive. 
The  candor  and  rugged  honesty  of  his  political  life  made 
him  formidable  to  certain  selfish  corporate  influences, 
and  his  personal  popularity  stood  in  the  way  of  the  ambi- 
tions of  powerful  individuals  in  the  Republican  party. 

(742) 


THE   STORY   OF  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT'S   LIFE.          743 

Very  largely  for  these  reasons  the  vice-presidential  nomina- 
tion was  forced  upon  him  against  his  will  and  the  desires  of 
his  best  friends.  He  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous  presi- 
dential possibility,  and  designing  politicians  were  anxious  to 
get  him  out  of  the  way. 

By  the  irony  of  fate  he  now  becomes  president  through 
a  tragedy  which  made  him  heir  to  much  of  popular  affection 
for  his  predecessor.  Thus  were  the  machinations  of  his 
enemies  and  rivals  brought  to  naught ;  and  thus  did  the 
nation  gain  an  Executive  vigorous  in  body  and  mind,  finely 
educated,  notable  as  a  writer  of  American  history,  exacting 
yet  sympathetic  in  administrative  labors,  intensely  Ameri- 
can in  policy,  yet  without  a  trace  of  racial  narrowness, 
unequivocal  in  his  religious  convictions  yet  tolerant  of  men 
of  all  faiths,  a  champion  of  civil  service  reform,  municipal 
reform,  and  all  altruistic  movements. 

President  Roosevelt  was  born  in  New  York  City  October 
27,  1858.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  private  and 
preparatory  schools.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  1875, 
and  was  graduated  in  1880.  After  a  trip  to  Europe  for 
much  needed  rest,  he  returned  to  New  York  in  1881,  and 
began  the  study  of  law,  but  soon  abandoned  it  and  became 
interested  in  politics.  He  has  described  his  entry  into  the 
political  field  thus:  "I  have  always  believed  that  every 
man  should  join  a  political  organization  and  should  attend 
the  primaries ;  that  he  should  not  be  content  to  be  merely 
governed,  but  should  do  his  part  of  that  work.  So  after 
leaving  college  I  went  to  the  local  political  headquarters, 
attended  all  the  meetings  and  took  my  part  in  whatever 
came  up." 

In  the  fall  of  1881  he  was  elected  to  the  New  York 
Assembly,  and  was  twice  re-elected,  serving  in  the  Legisla- 
tures of  1882,  1883,  and  1884.  He  began  his  career  in  the 
Assembly  without  prestige  and  with  the  opposition  of  a 
powerful  political  ring.  But  he  fought  it  down,  mastering 


744  ROOSEVELT'S  RAPID  RISE  TO  FAME  AND  POSITION. 

one  opponent  after  another  until  he  was  recognized  as  a 
leader,  and  won  his  way  to  the  very  front  rank  of  Assembly 
influence.  He  was  highly  popular  with  his  associates, 
irrespective  of  party. 

Four  years  membership  in  the  Eighth  Regiment  of  the 
New  York  State  National  Guard,  to  which  Roosevelt  be- 
longed from  1884  to  1888,  and  in  which  he  was  for  a  time  a 
captain,  furnished  at  least  a  basis  for  his  subsequent 
brilliant  military  career. 

Mr.'  Roosevelt's  rapid  rise  from  ward  to  national  politics 
was  the  natural  result  of  his  brilliant  Legislative  work.  He 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  United  States  Civil  Service 
Commission  by  President  Harrison  in  1889.  His  ability 
and  honesty  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  that  office  greatly 
strengthened  his  hold  on  the  public,  and  he  was  regarded 
the  best  member  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  the 
United  States  ever  had. 

In  1895  he  accepted  the  office  of  Police  Commissioner 
of  New  York.  His  administration  of  this  office  was  charac- 
terized by  the  same  uncompromising  honesty  that  is  the 
mo'st  prominent  note  in  his  character.  He  set  about  to 
enforce  the  laws  as  he  found  them  in  the  statutes,  and  this 
brought  into  the  legal  net  many  delinquents  who  had  never 
anticipated  being  discovered  or  punished.  In  a  very  fe\v 
weeks  he  was  the  most  thoroughly  hated  man  in  all  the 
city.  His  was  the  dominating  personality  in  a  board  that 
did  more  to  dethrone  evil  and  clear  out  the  worst  part 
of  the  slums  of  New  York  and  introduce  honest  adminis- 
tration of  affairs,  than  any  other  board  has  ever  done.  The 
saloon  element  that  had  suffered  most  said  they  would  get 
rid  of  Roosevelt  by  fair  means  or  foul.  No  greater  com- 
pliment could  have  been  paid  to  him. 

Such  was  the  man  whom  President  McKinley  selected 
for  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  April,  1897.  He 
accepted  the  position  and  went  to  work  on  the  instant. 


745 

Before  the  "old  timers"  in  the  department  realized  the 
change,  the  Assistant  Secretary,  but  a  few  days  in  office, 
began  to  astonish  them  by  his  comprehensive  mastery  of 
detail.  Presently  it  was  perceived  that  he  was  about  the 
liveliest  man  in  that  part  of  Washington.  He  was  every- 
where at  once,  and  he  could  be  found  at  almost  any  hour 
where  the  complications  were  thickest  and  the  problems 
most  serious. 

The  conservative  members  of  the  Service  immediately 
concluded  that  .Eoosevelt  would  upset  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. His  first  duty  on  coming  into  office  was  to  investi- 
gate the  efficiency  of  the  navy.  He  aroused  the  bureaus  of 
the  Department  from  lethargy,  provided  shot  and  shell  for 
naval  vessels,  and  enforced  ceaseless  practice  and  drill  with 
the  ships  of  the  navy.  From  the  time  he  entered  the  office 
he  seemed  to  realize  that  war  with  Spain  was  inevitable. 
His  energy  and  quick  mastery  of  detail  contributed  much 
to  the  successful  administration  of  the  department  and  the 
preparing  of  the  navy  for  the  most  brilliant  feats  in  naval 
warfare  in  the  history  of  the  world.  To  him  more  than  to 
any  other  person  was  due  the  readiness  of  the  navy  to  strike 
when  our  war  with  Spain  began. 

When  war  was  finally  declared,  Mr.  Roosevelt  could  not 
sit  -still  behind  a  desk.  He  submitted  his  resignation  as 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  proposed  to  the  Presi- 
dent to  raise  a  mounted  regiment  to  be  composed  of  men 
who  knew  how  to  ride  and  shoot.  His  offer  was  accepted. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  been  one  of  the  first  of  the  Eastern 
men  of  culture  to  enter  upon  the  cattle  business  in  the  far 
West,  with  the  serious  purpose  of  making  money,  and  for 
years  he  spent  so  much  of  his  summers  as  could  be  spared 
from  other  business  to  live  among  the  rough  riders  of  the 
plains,  eating  with  them,  sleeping  with  them,  hunting  with 
them,  and  sharing  in  the  roughest  of  their  sports  and  in 
trials  of  endurance,  strength,  and  skill. 


746        RAISING   THE   KEGIMENT   OF    ''ROUGH   RIDERS' 

He  told  his  hired  cowboys  that  he  intended  to  be  one  of 
them.  As  he  was  a  college  graduate  and  wore  glasses,  they 
set  him  down  for  a  typical  "  tenderfoot "  at  first,  but  were 
soon  undeceived.  His  great  personal  popularity  among 
them  -was  won  by  his  ability  to  more  than  hold  his  own 
with  them.  With  cowboys  he  was  a  cowboy,  and  the 
ranchmen  claimed  him  for  their  very  own.  He  endured  all 
the  hardships  of  that  life,  branded  his  own  cattle,  rounded 
up  his  own  herds,  and  never  expected  anything  more  than 
he  found  at  hand.  He  learned  to  know  cowboys  as  fearless 
riders  and  courageous  men,  strong  to  bear  the  hardships  of 
warfare.  From  such  men  the  famous  regiment  of  Rough 
Riders  was  chiefly  recruited. 

At  Roosevelt's  suggestion  Dr.  Leonard  A.  Wood,  an 
army  surgeon,  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  regiment,  with 
Roosevelt  as  Lieutenant-Colonel.  He  became  Colonel  on 
the  promotion  of  Wood  to  be  a  brigadier-general.  At  the 
very  start  Roosevelt  moulded  this  band  of  independent, 
high-spirited  ranchers,  cow-punchers,  and  athletes  into  regi 
mental  shape  with  no  uncertain  hand.  In  one  of  his  first 
speeches  to  them  he  said :  "  You've  got  to  perform  without 
flinching  whatever  duty  is  assigned  you,  regardless  of  the 
difficulty  or  danger  attending  it.  No  matter  what  comes, 
you  must  not  squeal."  These  words  of  Roosevelt  became 
almost  a  religion  with  his  men.  "  To  do  anything  Avithout 
flinching  and  not  to  squeal "  was  their  aim,  and  to  hear  the 
Colonel  say  "  Good "  was  reward  enough.  lie  was  on 
thoroughly  good  terms  with  his  men,  many  of  whom  he 
knew  by  name. 

When  it  came  to  discipline  Colonel  Roosevelt  never  let 
his  kindness  of  heart  degenerate  into  anything  like  laxity. 
It  is  related  of  him  that  one  day  in  camp,  before  Santiago, 
one  of  his  troopers  objected  to  the  performance  of  some 
menial  work  which  was  unpleasant,  but  necessary.  Colonel 
Roosevelt,  who  had  striven  to  impress  every  man  while  the 


FILLING   UP  A    "  HOLLER 7X.  747 

command  was  being  recruited  that  no  picnic  was  ahead  of 
them,  and  that  there  would  be  many  unpleasant  and  dis- 
tasteful duties  to  perform,  was  vexed  that  the  lesson  had 
been  so  imperfectly  learned,  or,  if  learned,  so  quickly  for- 
gotten, and  he  became  angry  when  the  man  got  obstinate. 
He  gave  him  a  lecture  that  made  his  ears  ring. 

When  he  had  finished  the  trooper  said :  "  All  right,  Col- 
onel ;  I'll  do  it."  Then  he  paused  for  a  minute.  "  Colonel," 
he  went  on,  "  haven't  you  got  a  few  beans  to  spare  ?  I'm 
kinder  holler."  The  commander  of  the  Rough  Eiders  had 
been  scowling  savagely,  but  at  the  appeal  for  beans  the 
scowl  vanished.  "  I'll  see,"  he  said.  "  Come  over  here." 
The  trooper  followed  to  where  Colonel  Roosevelt's  belong- 
ings were  lying.  The  Colonel  found  a  small  can  three- 
quarters  full.  "  Here,"  he  said,  emptying  out  half  of  them, 
"  take  'em  and  fill  up  your  '  holler,'  but  you  bury  that  dead 
horse  at  once  or  there'll  be  trouble  in  this  camp,  and  you'll 
be  in  it." 

In  Cuba  the  Rough  Riders  saw  active  service,  and  Roose- 
velt distinguished  himself  again  and  again  by  personal 
bravery  and  efficiency  in  the  management  of  his  command, 
always  leading  his  men  into  the  thickest  of  the  battle.  His 
conduct  at  the  jungle  fight  of  Los  Guasimas,  and  in  the 
bloody  charge  up  San  Juan  Hill,  made  him  easily  the  lead- 
ing popular  hero  of  the  Spanish  War  in  Cuba.  When  he 
returned  to  the  United  States  with  his  regiment  in  August, 
1898,  he  was  already  talked  of  as  the  next  governor  of  New 
York.  But  his  regiment,  which  he  had  "  breathed  with  and 
eaten  with  for  three  months,"  was  still  on  his  hands,  and  he 
had  no  time  for  anything  but  that.  ~Not  until  he  became  a 
plain  citizen  would  he  talk  of  politics.  The  demand  for  his 
nomination  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  Governor  of 
New  York  was  so  great  that  he  could  not  resist  it,  though 
he  neither  sought  nor  desired  it.  He  was  elected  Governor 
in  the  ensuing  election. 


748  OBEYING  AN  IMPERATIVE  CALL. 

As  Governor  it  was  felt  that  the  State  would  have  as  an 
executive  a  man  of  such  high  integrity  that  every  office- 
holder in  Albany  would  understand  that  his  accounts  must 
be  absolutely  correct,  that  there  would  be  no  stealing,  and 
that  there  would  be  no  jobbery  attempted  in  the  legislature. 
It  was  also  felt  that  the  standard  of  official  efficiencv  would 
be  raised ;  that  inefficient  public  servants  would  be  retired 
and  replaced  with  men  of  undoubted  capacity.  lie  exhib- 
ited the  most  desirable  qualities  of  an  executive  officer,  and 
his  administration  was  of  absolute  moral  purity.  Its  integ- 
rity was  recognized  by  every  political  party. 

When  the  Republican  National  Convention  of  1900  met 
in  Philadelphia,  the  demand  for  the  nomination  of  Governor 
Roosevelt  for  Yice-President  of  the  United  States  was  irre- 
sistible. He  did  not  seek  and  did  not  want  the  nomination. 
At  his  party's  imperative  call,  however,  he  relinquished  the 
desire  he  had  to  be  re-elected  Governor  of  New  York,  and 
accepted  the  position  on  the  national  Republican  ticket  with 
William  McKinley. 

That  President  Roosevelt  is  in  reality  a  man  of  many 
sides  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  midst  of  his  intensely 
active  life  he  has  found  time  to  do  a  large  amount  of  lit- 
erary work.  He  is  the  first  man  of  letters  to  occupy  the 
presidential  chair  since  Thomas  Jefferson.  He  has  written 
many  books,  some  of  them  notable,  and  contributed  many 
articles  to  the  press.  His  writings  are  marked  by  rich 
descriptive  power,  and  his  historical  works  by  accuracy, 
breadth,  and  fairness.  In  his  books  are  recorded  his  best 
thoughts  on  public  policy,  legislation,  and  ideal  government. 

Throughout  his  public  career,  which  in  a  few  years  has 
been  crowded  with  more  stirring  events  than  usually  fall  to 
the  lot  of  one  man  in  a  lifetime,  President  Roosevelt  has 
been  first  and  always  a  family  man.  His  children  not  only 
love  him,  but  make  him  their  playmate  and  companion 
whenever  he  is  with  them,  which  is  every  moment  that  his 


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THE   KEYNOTE   OF  ROOSEVELT'S  POPULARITY.          749 

public  duties  will  admit.  He  is  never  so  happy  as  when  he 
is  sitting  quietly  in  his  home  with  his  wife  and  children. 
Home  is  to  him  the  most  sacred  place  on  earth,  and  he 
never  allows  his  family  circle  to  be  disturbed  by  the  many 
cares  which  fall  upon  him  as  a  servant  of  his  country. 

President  Roosevelt  has  always  been  a  vigorous  speaker, 
with  opinions  of  his  own,  and  upon  subjects  of  national  im- 
portance he  never  hesitates  to  say  what  he  believes.  His 
views  are  constant  and  unchanging,  as  his  manner  of  stating 
them  is  as  straight  as  a  sword-thrust.  In  one  of  his  public 
addresses  he  said :  "  No  nation,  no  matter  how  glorious  its 
history,  can  exist  unless  it  practices  — practices,  mind  you, 
not  merely  preaches  —  civic  honesty,  civic  decency,  civic 
righteousness.  No  nation  can  permanently  prosper  unless 
the  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  are  its  guides  in  public  as 
in  private  life." 

Above  all  things  he  is  a  man.  This  is  the  keynote  to 
his  popularity.  "  For  myself,"  he  said,  "  I'd  work  as  quick 
beside  'Pat'  Dngan  as  with  the  last  descendants  of  the  Pa- 
troon.  It  literally  makes  no  difference  to  me,  so  long  as  the 
work  is  good  and  the  man  is  in  earnest.  I  would  have 
young  men  work.  I'd  try  to  develop  and  work  out  an  ideal 
of  mine,  the  theory  of  the  duty  of  the  leisure  classes  to  the 
community.  I  have  tried  to  do  it  by  example,  and  it  is 
what  I  "have  preached  —  first  and  foremost,  to  be  American 
heart  and  soul,  and  to  go  with  any  person,  heedless  of  any- 
thing but  that  person's  qualifications." 

Young  in  years,  but  old  in  experience,  and  with  qualities 
of  character  which  won  the  cowboy  on  the  plains  and  the 
Harvard  undergraduate  with  equal  potency,  he  came  to  the 
presidency  at  the  earliest  age  on  record,  with  the  faith  of 
the  young  men  of  the  country  going  out  to  him  as  it  never 
had  to  any  other  president. 

His  faith  in  American  institutions  and  the  future  of  his 
country  is  unlimited  and  inspiring.  With  a  remarkable  ca- 


750  ;        THE   WIFE   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

pacity  for  work  and  a  constitution  equal  to  any  strain,  he 
will  always  be  found  laboring  for  his  country's  good.  A 
citizen  of  exalted  personal  character,  a  type  of  all  the 
homely  virtues,  of  irreproachable  private  life,  an  ardent 
patriot,  a  keen  student  of  men  and  affairs,  a  statesman  of 
large  experience  in  executive  tasks,  and  of  wide  acquaint- 
ance with  the  people,  the  history  and  the  institutions  of  the 
United  States,  he  will  give  the  American  people  an  able, 
honest,  and  clean  administration.  He  stands  before  the 
country  picturesque  and  unique,  a  daring  leader  of  men  and 
affairs.  He  entered  the  White  House  with  the  heritage  of 
the  example  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  ad- 
ministrations of  our  history,  and  he  assumed  the  great  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States  with  a  sustaining  assur- 
ance of  the  confidence  and  support  of  his  fellow  country- 
men. 

Mrs.  Eoosevelt,  who  is  now  the  first  lady  in  the  land, 
is  the  second  wife  of  the  President.  She  comes  from  a  long 
line  of  ancestors  high  in  social  position,  and  as  a  young  girl 
she  was  a  great  favorite  in  society  not  only  in  this  country 
but  abroad.  Thoroughly  well  posted  in  the  requirements 
and  duties  of  social  etiquette,  the  formality  that  must  needs 
rule  in  the  White  House  will  yet  be  much  mitigated  by  the 
indescribable  charm  of  the  home  life  which  will  dominate 
everything. 

The  attractive  personality  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt  made  her 
especially  popular  as  the  wife  of  the  Governor  of  New 
York.  She  has  never  been  in  any  sense  a  "  public  woman  " 
even  when  as  the  wife  of  the  Governor  social  and  public 
functions  made  great  demands  upon  her.  She  avoids  promi- 
nent identification  with  any  movement,  and  dislikes  ostenta- 
tious display.  Shrinking  from  undue  publicity,  hers  is  one 
of  those  rare  personalities  which  are  bound  to  assert  them- 
selves under  any  and  all  circumstances.  Yet  as  the  social 
leader  of  the  country  Mrs.  Roosevelt  is  fully  equipped. 


MISS  ALICE  ROOSEVELT,  THE  PRESIDENT'S  ELDEST  DAUGHTER. 

From  her  latest  photograph,  approved  by  President  and  Mrs. 

Roosevelt.     Engraved  exp  essly  for  this  book. 


MRS.    ROOSEVELT  AS  A  WIFE  AND    MOTHER.  751 

Few  women  of  the  present  day  are  more  cultured  or  accom- 
plished. Indeed,  she  might  be  taken  as  the  type  of  the 
American  woman ;  for,  though  essentially  feminine  and 
dainty  in  appearance,  she  has  yet  enough  fondness  for  out- 
door life  and  sports  to  be  in  entire  sympathy  with  her 
husband.  She  is  also  the  personification  of  the  good 
American  wife  and  mother.  No  matter  how  busy  and  how 
full  her  life  may  be,  certain  hours  are  devoted  exclusively 
to  her  children,  who  receive  probably  the  tenderest  care 
and  attention  that  a  mother  has  ever  lavished  upon  children 
in  their  position  in  life.  Yet  she  superintends  her  own 
household,  and  is  a  business  woman  when  business  interests 
claim  her  attention. 

The  first  wife  of  President  Roosevelt  was  Miss  Alice  Lee 
of  Boston.  After  only  a  year  of  married  life  the  young 
wife  died,  leaving  a  baby  girl,  Miss  Alice,  who  has  recently 
entered  society. 

The  present  Mrs.  Eoosevelt  was  Miss  Edith  Kermit 
Carew,  and  Mr.  Eoosevelt  married  her  in  London  in  1886. 
She  was  born  in  New  York,  where  her  girlhood  was  passed 
and  where  she  attended  school. 

Mrs.  Eoosevelt's  life  while  wife  of  the  Governor  of  New 
York  State  indicates  that  while  not  craving  public  notoriety 
she  will  neglect  none  of  the  social  duties  which  tradition 
assigns  to  the  mistress  of  the  White  House.  She  has  a 
genius  for  hospitality,  and  has,  in  addition,  the  unusual  gift 
of  being  able  to  remember  the  faces  of  persons  she  has  met 
but  once  or  twice.  She  is  of  medium  height  and  graceful 
figure,  and  has  a  charm  of  manner  that  attracts  all  who 
meet  her.  She  dresses  simply,  but  always  in  perfect  taste. 

President  and  Mrs.  Eoosevelt  are  the  youngest  couple 
who  have  ever  occupied  the  White  House,  and  they,  with 
their  children,  will  unquestionably  transform  it  in  many 
ways.  They  have  six  children,  ranging  in  age  according  to 
the  order  in  which  they  are  here  named  :  Alice,  Theodore, 


752    THE  ROOSEVELT   CHILDREN  IN  THE  WHITE   HOUSE. 

Kermit,  Ethel,  Archibald,  and  Quentin.  Thus  the  stately 
rooms  of  the  White  House  again  resound  to  the  voices  of 
children.  With  the  single  exception  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley's  administration  the  Executive  Mansion  has  for  the 
past  forty  years  never  been  without  the  charms  of  child- 
hood life.  All  the  presidents  did  not  have  young  children, 
but  where  these  were  lacking  there  were  grandchildren  to 
take  their  places. 

The  home  life  of  the  White  House  during  Roosevelt's 
administration  promises  to  be  an  interesting  and  very 
happy  one.  The  people  of  the  United  States  will  love 
Mrs.  Roosevelt  as  they  admire  the  rugged  courage,  un- 
compromising honesty,  and  indomitable  persistency  of  her 
husband  —  the  President. 


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